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EXPOSi:  OF  POLYGAMY  IN  UTAH. 


A  LADY'S   LIFE 

.  *  >   > '  .  *  *» '' 

AMONG   THE   MORMONS. 

A   RECORD 

OF 

PERSONAL   EXPERIENCE 

AS  ONE  OF  THE  WIVES  OF  A  MORMON  ELDER 

DURING   A    PERIOD   OF   MORE   THAN   TWENTY   YEARS. 
DY 

Mrs.  T.  B.  H.  ^TENPIOUSE, 

OF    SALT    LAKE   CITY. 
LLUSTRATED     BY     II.     L.     STEPHENS, 

Tw«  SECOND   EDITION. 

l^lY^t^^^  NEW-YORK 

CAN  NEWS  COMPANY,  119  NASSAU   STREET. 

1S72. 


/ 

0/X 


ALL   KIGHT   OP   TRANSLATION  RESERVED. 


^f^/? 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18T2,  by 

Mk8.  T.  B.  H.  STENHOUSE, 
in  the  Ofllce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Waahington. 


8.  W.  GuEKf,  Printer,  16  and  18  Jacob  Street,  New-York, 


*'  Have  ye  not  read,  that  He  which,  made  them  at  the  beginning 
made  them  male  and  female,  and  said,  For  this  cause  shall  a  man 
leave  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife :  and  they  twain 
shall  be  one  flesh  ?" — Matthew  19  :  4-5. 

**  There  shall  not  any  man  among  you  have  save  it  be  one  wife  ;  and 
concubines  he  shall  have  none.^^ — Book  of  Mormon,  p.  118. 

**  Thou  shalt  love  thy  wife  with  all  thy  heart,  and  shalt  cleave  unto 
her  and  none  else.''— Book  OF  Covenants,  p.  124. 


TO    THE    READER. 


Is  presenting  this  little  volume  to  the  public,  I  trust  I  may 
be  excused  if  I  give  utterance  to  a  few  words  by  way  of  pre- 
face. This  I  think  especially  needful,  as  very  probably 
what  I  have  written  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  many  who  are 
but  imperfectly  acquainted  with  Mormon  doctrines  and  Mor- 
mon practice,  and  who  would  thus  he  at  a  loss  to  understand 
much  of  my  story.  It  is  only  right  that  I  should  explain, 
among  other  things — what  may  appear  strange  to  the  reader — 
that  is,  the  poverty  and  privations  which  we  endured  for  so 
many  years.  It  must  be  fully  understood  that  this  poverty  was 
entirely  voluntary.  My  husband  and  myself  were  both  zea- 
lously devoted  to  the  faith,  and  when  called  to  missionary 
labour,  we  obeyed.  We  were  not  only  willing  to  sacrifice 
cheerfully  all  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  life  for  the  sake  of 
our  religion,  but  we  did  so,  and  rejoiced  that  we  were  counted 
worthy  to  suffer. 

Again,  I  must  here  state  that,  although  I  am  necessarily  com- 
pelled to  speak  of  many  circumstances  of  a  personal  nature,  I 
have  studiously  avoided  all  mention  of  names  or  details  which 
might  reasonably  give  the  least  pain  to  any  of  my  former 
friends  and  acquaintances.  Even  in  the  case  of  Brigham 
Young  and  his  family,  with  whom  I  have  been  on  terms  of  the 
most  intimate  acquaintance,  although  I  felt  myself  at  liberty  to 
speak  more  freely  of  him  as  a  public  man,  I  have  in  no  instance 
betrayed  the  confidence  which  any  of  his  wives  or  members  of 
his  household  h.ive  placed  in  me.  This  statement  I  am  assur- 
ed they  will  willingly  confirm. 

The  following  pages  are  simply  what  they  pretend  to  be  : 
"  What  I  know  about  Polygamy ;"  and  in  order  to  set  the 
whole  matter  plainly  before  the  reader,  I  Rave  given  a  brief  ac- 


6  TO   THE   READER. 

count  of  my  own  personal  experience — what  I  myself  felt,  what 
I  saw  and  knew.  Every  statement  which  I  make,  I  can  prove 
to  be  strictly  correct ;  and  if  I  have  erred  in  any  thing,  it  has 
teen  in  not  giving  my  subjects  so  high  a  colouring,  or  so  sensa- 
tional a  character,  as  perhaps  they  had  in  their  reality.  The 
women  of  Utah  will  bear  me  witness  that  every  word  which  I 
have  written  is  true,  although  perhaps  only  a  weak  picture  of 
the  facts  as  they  occurred. 

I  do  not  wish  to  apologize  for  any  imperfections  in  what  I 
have  written,  although  perhaps  I  might,  as  a  woman,  claim  a 
little  consideration.  This  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  appear- 
ed in  print,  and  probably  it  will  be  the  last.  It  had  been  fre- 
quently suggested  to  me  that  I  should  write  a  short  history  of 
my  own  life  as  a  Mormon,  but  I  never  seriously  entertained 
the  idea.  Only  two  or  three  weeks  ago,  not  a  single  word 
was  written,  or  a  plan  even  outlined  for  a  work  of  any  kind. 
Very  recent  and  unforeseen  circumstances,  although  they  found 
me,  in  every  literary  sense,  unprepared  for  such  an  effort,  led 
to  a  resolution  that  I  would  give  to  the  world,  and  especially 
to  my  sisters  in  Utah,  whose  sympathy  I  feel  assured  I  possess, 
an  account  of  my  own  trials,  which  have  been,  and  in  many  in- 
stances still  are,  their  own. 

At  the  end  of  the  volume  I  give  an  exact  copy  of  the  "  Reve- 
lation," that  any  curiosity  felt  respecting  it  may  be  satisfied, 
and  that  my  readers  may  see  for  themselves  what  the  Mormon 
women  are  expected  to  believe  and  obey.  The  few  "  choice" 
extracts  which  follow  it  are  taken  from  the  writings  and  dis- 
courses of  eminent  modern  Apostles.  They  will  amply  corro- 
borate every  statement  which  I  have  made,  and  prove  to  the 
impartial  mind  that  in  no  instance  have  I  exaggerated  or  de- 
viated from  the  truth — ^but  rather  the  reverse.  I  have  told  a 
plain  story  of  fads ^  and  have  endeavoured  to  present  a  faith- 
ful picture  of  the  terrible  realities  of  Mormon  Polygamy. 
Whether  I  have  succeeded  or  not,  let  the  reader  determine. 

FANNY  STENHOUSE. 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 


^^YSE-lTTl 


o» 


CONTENTS 


Chapter  I. 


—      ,-..-.  -   _  TACK 

Early  Life  and  Experience  of  the  Authoress,  .        .     13 

Chapter  II. 

Seeking  after  Truth — First  Acquaintance  with  Mormon- 
ism — Favourable  Impressions — I  become  the  Wife  of  a 
Mormon  Elder, 16 


Chapter  III. 

My  Husband  leaves  for  Italy — Experiences  as  the  Wife 
of  a  Missionary — Privations  and  Struggles  with  Poverty 
in  England— Suspicions  of  Polygamy — "Privilege"  of 
*' washing  the  Elders'  Feet"— Cheering  Words  in  Time 
of  Trouble, 19 

Chapter  IV. 

Our  Mission  to  Switzerland — Introducing  Mormonism — 
Terrible  Trials  of  Faith — Geneva — Days  without  Food — 
The  new  Convert — "  The  Labourer  worthy  of  his  Hire" 
— Timely  Aid, 26 

Chapter  V. 

The  "  Revelation"  on  Polygamy — How  I  received  it — 
Left  without  Hope — The  Doctrine  of  "  plural  Marriage" 
first  taught — "  Beauties"  of  the  System — My  first  Con- 
vert to  Polygamy — A  Scene — Trials — How  Work  pro- 
gressed— Disaster  to  Swiss  Emigration,         .        .        »    3S 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  VI. 


We  return  to  England— How  Polygamy  was  taught  there — 
The  Girls  happy— The  Wives  miserable— General  Ef- 
fects of  the  Doctrine — A  Runaway  Wife — How  she 
acted  in  Haste  and  repented  at  Leisure — A  Mother  leaves 
her  Babes — A  Lady  is  "  counselled  "  to  emigrate  with- 
out her  Husband — Follies  of  certain  Elders — Polygamic 
"Poetry"! 44 

Chapter  VIL 

Mormon  Life  in  London — "  Counselled"  to  go  to  Salt  Lake 
Valley — Sickness  and  Annoyances — Doubts  and  Fears — 
Faith  wavering — Loneliness  in  the  great  City— The 
"  Dear  American  Brethren" — Preparations  for  leaving 
England, SS 

Chapter  VI IL 

We  emigrate  to  America — New  York — The  Mormon — An 
"  Apostle,"  two  "  High-Priests,"  and  a  "  Seventy,"  and 
what  they  did — Polygamy  in  New  York — The  Elders 
.  from  Utah  choose  other  Wives — Plans  disarranged — ^We 
set  out  for  "  Zion" — Three  Months  on  the  Plains — First 
Glimpse  of  "  the  City  of  the  Saints,"  .  .  .62 

Chapter  IX. 

Life  in  Salt  Lake  City — Polygamy  in  Practice — The  first 
Wife  to  be  "destroyed"  unless  she  consents — Deceptive 
Teaching  about  taking  a  second  Wife— The  Mormon 
Plan — "  Labouring"  with  refractory  Wives — Elderly 
Ladies  assisting  in  Courtship — A  first  Wife's  Trials — 
Anomalies  of  Polygamic  Life, 68 

Chapter  X. 

Shocking  Effects  of  Polygamy — Marrying  a  Half-Sister — 
A  Mother  and  Daughter  married  to  one  Man — Marry- 
ing three  Sisters  on  one  Day ! — "  Covenants  of  Mar- 


CONTENTS.  9 

PAGB 

riage"— Influence  of  Elders— A  deluded  "Sister"  and 
her  Persecutor — Mistaken  Ideas  of  Duty — Another 
"  Sister"  betrayed — Men  unhappy  in  Polygamy,  ,     'j'j 

Chapter  XI. 

Illustrations  of  practical  Polygamy— A  "  Sister"  in  deep 
Affliction — A  Husband's  Cruelty — A  sad  End — Various 
and  fearful  Results  of  Polygamy — Broken  Hearts  and 
Lunacy — Men  "  Sparking"  in  the  Ball- Room — Women 
sitting  like  Wallflowers! — Painful  Memories — Intro- 
duced to  five  Wives  at  once — "  Are  these  all  you 
have  got  ?" — Matrimonial  Felicities,       .        .        .        .85 

Chapter  XII. 

Going  to  the  "  Endowment  House" — ^Wives  cruel  to  other 
Wives — The  Story  of  a  young  second  Wife — How  she 
came  to  marry — How  she  was  treated — Neglect  of 
the  Husband — Cruelty  of  the  first  Wife — Goes  to  the 
"  Bishop" — How  young  Girls  in  Polygamy  value  the 
Attentions  of  their  Husbands — The  Ways  of  Mormon 
Men, .94 

Chapter  XIII. 
Fears  realized — Meeting  an  old  Friend  from  Switzerland — 
The  Vicissitudes  of  himself  and  Family — How  he  was 
"counselled"  to  take  another  Wife — Brigham  sends 
for  me — My  young  Charge — "Not  feeHng  well" — My 
Husband  seeking  a  second  Wife — A  "  painful "  Task  ! — 
Striving  to  submit — My  attempts  at  Friendship  with  his 
Fiancee— "M-y  Heart  not  quite  subdued,        .         .         .104 

Chapter  XIV, 

The  Sacrifice  of  my  Life — I  give  another  Wife  to  my  Hus- 
band— The  Scene  in  the  "Endowment  House" — My 
Day  of  Trial— It  was  all  over  now — Bitter  Miseries  of 
Polygamy— Rebellious  Thoughts — Retrospect  of  that 
Time— The  first  Wife   not  alone  unhappy — Watchful 


10  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

E3'es — A  ludicrous  Picture — Want  of  Sympathy— Seek- 
ing another  "Jewel"  for  his  "  Corwn" — Enlarging  the 
"Kingdom" — "Stolen  Waters"— Love- Letters  read  in 
Secret — Reading  the  "  Revelation"  a  second  Time,        .  117 

Chapter  XV. 

Trouble  with  the  Church — Implicit  Obedience  demanded — 
Confidence  in  the  Church  Authorities  declining — Cling- 
ing to  Faith — Attempting  to  suppress  Doubts — How 
Inquiry  was  suggested — Brigham  angry — "A  Prophet 
might  be  mistaken" — Day  dawning  at  last — "  Obeying 
Counsel,"  and  what  it  cost — An  Article  on  "Pro- 
gress"— A  Scene — We  withdraw  from  the  Church — A 
brutal  and  scandalous  Outrage  upon  my  Husband  and 
myself— Strange  Police  ! — Without  redress — Popular 
Anger — Private  Sympathy,        .         .  .  .         .129 

Chapter  XVI. 

Recent  Conclusions  on  Polygamy — Faith  in  the  Doctrine 
declining — How  Women  in  Utah  feel — False  Notions 
and  Statements — Sophistries  about  Want  of  Faith — Opi- 
nions of  the  young  Girls — Better  Chances  now — Changes 
operating  in  Utah — Brigham  becomes  fashionable — 
He  abandons  his  own  Teachings — How  a  Man  with 
two  Wives  cleverly  escaped  from  Utah  and  Polygamy — 
Difficulties  of  Husbands  when  they  leave  the  Mormon 
Faith — Effects  of  the  Law  of  1862 — Domestic  Sympa- 
thies— Evil  Effects  of  Example  upon  Boys,       .  .146 

Chapter  XVII. 

An  interesting  Courtship — Brigham  Young  seeks  an- 
other Wife — Martha  Brotherton  tells  her  Story  of  the 
Wooing — Abstract  of  her  History — Difficulties  in  creat- 
ing Faith  in  Polygamy — "  Tricks  that  are  Vain" — "  Are 
you  ready  to  take  Counsel .''" — ^Joseph  Smith's  little 
Room — "Positively  no  Admittance" — Joseph  comes  in — 
He    assists     Brigham's     Courtship — The     Prophet    a 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

PACB 

"  proxy"  Lover—*'  A  few  Questions" — "  Lawful  and 
Right"—"  The  best  Man  in  the  World  but  Me"—"  I 
will  have  a  Kiss  anyhow" — "  Don't  you  believe  in  me  ?" 
— "If  you  accept  Brigham,  you  shall  be  blessed" — 
"  If  he  turns  you  off,  I  will  take  you  on"—"  Not  exactly, 
sir," 154 

Chapter  XVIII. 

Marriage — The  Age  for  Marrying — Seventy  and  Seven- 
teen— Women  privileged  to  choose  their  own  Husbands 
— Some  Women  make  a  Choice — Joseph's  Widows — 
"  Serving  for  seven  Years" — Celestial  Marriages — Bap- 
tism and  Marriage  for  the  Dead — Saving  one's  Ances- 
tors ad  htjinitutn — Marrying  for  "  Time  and  for  Eter- 
nity"— The  Register  at  Salt  Lake,  from  which  the 
World  shall  be  judged — Difficulties  of  "proxy"  Mar- 
riages— "  Proxies"  for  the  Empress  Josephine  and 
Napoleon  I. — "  The  next  best  Thing" — Joseph's  un- 
productive Polygamy — Divorce — Woman's  solitary  Pri- 
vilege—  Divorce  for  ten  Dollars!  —  Re-Marrying — 
Shocking  instance  of  self-fulfilling  a  "  Revelation" — 
Perverted  Heroism — "  Affinity" — Brother  Hyde's  Ar- 
gument— The  Woman  with  seven  Husbands — Statisti- 
cal Facts, 163 

Chapter  XIX. 

Domestic  Life  in  Polygamy — Management  of  Families — 
Separate  Homes— Half-a-dozen  Wives  under  one  Roof 
— Internal  Arrangements — The  "odd  Day"  for  the 
first  Wife — "  Generosity" — How  six  Wives  are  visited — 
The  Misery  of  poor  Polygamists — The  greater  Misery 
in  a  wealthy  House — "The  Kingdom" — The  Tale  of 
the  Doors  and  Windows — Fruitless  good  Intentions — 
Illustrative  Instance  of  the  Effects  of  Polygamy  and 
Monogamy — An  Economical  Wife  and  her  Object — 
Lost  for  Want  of  a  little  good  Cooking — Wives  in  va- 
rious Places — Utilizing  the  Services  of  Wives — A  Hus- 


12  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

band's  Difficulties— Brigham  Young— His  "  Homes"— 
Mrs.  Young  :  Nineteen  of  her  !  —  Wives,  and 
"proxy"  Wives — The  Bee-Hive  House — The  Lion 
House  —  Six  other  Houses  —  Domestic  Relations — 
Brigham's  Favourite— The  Prophet  in  the  Ball-Room — 
His  Proscenium-Box  at  the  Theatre — Delusion  of  Utah 
Women — Can  this  be  from  God  ?         .         .         .         .182 

Chapter  XX. 

Gentiles  in  Utah — Mormon  Women  not  allowed  to  mingle 
with  them — Restrictions  and  Prejudices — Women  and 
Men  kept  apart  in  the  Tabernacle  and  in  the  Theatre — 
Keeps  a  Gentile  Boarding-House— Times  changed — 
Mormon  Girls  marrying  Gentile  Husbands — Why  they 
prefer  the  Gentiles — Reasons  of  Jealousy — The  Looks 
of  the  Mormon  Women — False  Notions— The  Railway 
working  Changes — An  Appeal  to  Congress — The  wisest 
Course  to  be  adopted — To  the  Women  of  Utah,    .        .  198 

APPENDIX. 
The  "Revelation"  of  Joseph  Smith  on  Polygamy,     .        .  207 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


His  New  Wife — The  "Wallflowers,"  .  .  .  89 
"  i  could  tear  you  to  pieces  !"  .  .  .  .  41 
"  Labouring  "  with  a  Rebellious  Wife,  .  .  .73 
Mother  and  Daughter  Wives  to  the  same  Husband,  "jy 
"  Are  these  all  you  have  got  ?"  .  .  .  .92 
Wife  at  Home— Husband  Abroad,         .        .        .      112 

The  Wealthy  Polygamist, 183 

Polygamy  in  Poverty, 185 

Brigham  Young  at  Home, 194 


Ot    X^5^ 


|Uir!7EE:iT 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Early  Life  and  Experience  of  the  Authoress. 

I  WAS  once  a  Mormon  woman,  and  for  over  twenty 
years  I  have  lived  among  Mormons.  Their  faith  was 
once  mine  as  truly  as  any  words  can  express  ;  their 
thoughts  were  the  same  as  mine ;  their  hopes  were 
my  hopes  ;  their  religious  opinions  were  in  sympathy 
with  my  own.  But  that  was  in  the  time  past.  It 
seems  long  past,  and  yet  it  was,  as  I  may  say,  only  a 
little  while  ago — a  few  months,  which  I  might  almost 
count  upon  my  fingers.  Yet  now  all  this  is  changed, 
and  I  have  learned  to  see  matters  in  another  light. 

When  I  first  listened  to  the  preaching  of  the  Mor- 
mon elders,  I  endeavored  to  judge  impartially  of  their 
doctrines.  I  thought  t/ien  that  they  were  right.  To 
rae,  at  the  time^  they  were  right.  But  other  views, 
which  I  now  believe  to  be  purer,  better,  and  more 
truthful,  have  dawned  upon  my  soul,  and  I  can,  I  think, 
fairly  say  that  I  am  a  free  woman — free  from  the 
bondage  of  superstition  ;  and  as  I  write  this,  I  feel 
the  pleasure  of  the  captive  who  shakes  himself  free 
from  his  chains. 


14       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  me  that  I  should,  from 
my  own  personal  experience,  write  the  story  of  a  Mor- 
mon woman  living  in  the  midst  of  Mormonism.  I 
shall  endeavour,  in  the  following  pages,  to  do  so  impar- 
tially and  truthfully.  But  I  wish  to  tell  my  story  as 
simply  as  I  can.  Others,  who  are  but  partially  in- 
formed, may  write  critically  of  what  they  have  seen 
or  heard  ;  but  I  shall  give  a  record  of  what  I  myself 
have  known  2^\difelt. 

Whatever  opinion  the  reader  may  form  of  my  life, 
past  or  present,  is  to  me  of  little  moment,  and  to  him 
it  can  not  be  of  much  consequence.  Personally,  I 
have  no  claims  to  the  attention  and  consideration  of 
the  world,  nor  do  I  desire  that  it  should  be  other- 
wise. But  as  no  woman's  experience  in  Utah,  who 
has  been  associated  with  Mormonism  and  seen  its 
polygamic  life,  could  be  very  different  from  my  own, 
the  facts  set  forth  in  this  little  work  will  enable  the 
reader  to  comprehend  the  operation  of  the  order  of 
"  celestial  marriage." 

To  answer  the  inquiry,  how  any  woman  can  sub- 
mit to  the  practice  of  polygamy,  I  must  of  necessity 
give  a  brief  history  of  my  early  life.  From  what  I 
shall  there  state,  the  reader  will  see  how  I  was  led 
on,  little  by  little,  from  total  ignorance  of  that  doc- 
trine, to  a  firm  faith  that  it  was  a  revelation  from  God, 
necessary  to  salvation.  . 

However  strange  what  I  relate  may  appear  to 
those  who  are  unacquainted  with  life  in  Utah,  my 
story  is  but  a  shadow  of  the  truth,  although  my  expe- 
rience was,  probably,  the  same  as  that  of  nine  tenths 
of  the  Mormon  women. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       1 5 

My  first  recollections  of  life  were  in  St.  Helier's, 
Jersey,  one  of  the  islands  in  the  English  Channel, 
where  I  was  born.  Through  the  preferences  of  my 
parents,  my  religious  education  and  associations  were 
with  the  Baptist  denomination,  my  own  disposition 
and  feelings  making  this  connection  very  agreeable, 
as  I  had,  probably,  for  a  girl  of  my  age,  a  more  than 
ordinary  interest  in  religious  observances. 

When  fifteen  years  of  age,  I  went  to  Brittany,  in 
France,  and  entered  into  a  Roman  Catholic  school  as 
a  teacher  of  English.  While  there,  I  had,  of  course, 
to  conform  to  the  rules  of  the  school,  and  attend 
church  with  the  pupils  at  all  times  when  required  to 
do  so.  Much  as  I  respected  the  people  with  whom  I 
was  associated,  for  their  kindness,  I  could  not  con- 
scientiously join  with  them  in  their  devotions.  I 
always  took  my  Bible  with  me,  and  read  it  during  the 
service  ;  and  frequently  in  my  loneliness  and  anxiety 
for  some  living  religious  truth,  I  would  say,  "  Oh  !  if 
there  were  only  a  prophet  ministering  noiv  on  earth, 
that  I  might  go  to  him  and  ask,  *  What  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved  V  and  thus  receive  an  answer  which  would 
satisfy  the  craving  of  my  soul." 

I  remained  in  France  six  years,  and  then  I  obtained 
two  months'  vacation,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  my 
parents,  who  had  now  removed  from  the  island  of 
Jersey  to  Southampton,  (England.) 


CHAPTER   IT. 

Seeking  the  Truth — First  Acquaintance  with  Mormonism — Favourable 
Impressions — I  become  the  Wife  of  a  Mormon  Elder. 

On  visiting  my  birthplace,  in  the  summer  of  1849, 
I  went  to  the  house  of  my  brother-in-law,  who  was 
an  "  apostate"  Mormon.  During  my  stay  in  his 
house,  he  spoke  to  me  about  the  Mormons  in  not 
very  flattering  terms.  At  the  same  time,  he  told  me 
that  my  father,  mother,  and,  in  fact,  all  my  family, 
had  adopted  that  faith.  As  I  knew  my  parents, 
particularly  my  mother,  to  be  sincere  and  devoted 
Christians,  I  began  to  think  that  Mormonism  must 
be  something  different  from  what  he  represented  it 
to  be,  or  they  never  would  have  accepted  it.  I  there- 
fore determined  to  investigate  this  religion,  for  the 
purpose  of  exposing  its  errors  to  my  parents,  for 
whom  I  entertained  the  deepest  affection. 

I  attended  my  first  Mormon  meeting  at  St.  Helier's, 
Jersey.  With  what  I  heard  that  afternoon  I  could 
find  no  fault,  although  I  was  very  much  prejudiced 
against  the  new  religion.  On  arriving  the  following 
week  at  my  father's  home  in  Southampton,  I  began 
to  observe  very  closely  every  thing  that  was  said  and 
done,  to  see  if  I  could  detect  any  change  in  the  life 
of  my  parents  and  sisters.  I  could  see  no  difference 
in  my  father  and  mother ;  but  I  certainly  saw  a 
change  in  my  sisters,  who  now  forsook  all  amuse- 
ments suitable  to  their  age,  and  thought  of  nothing 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       IJ 

but  going  to  church  and  making  clothing  for  the 
missionaries  who  were  to  be  sent  out  "  without 
purse  or  scrip." 

All  this  interested  me  very  much  ;  and,  at  my  sis- 
ters* request,  I  went  one  Sunday  morning  to  their 
place  of  worship.  The  sermon  that  I  then  heard  per- 
fectly fascinated  me.  It  was  delivered  by  an  elo- 
quent and  enthusiastic  young  Mormon  "  Elder,"  who 
felt,  or  thought  he  felt,  that  he  was  "a  servant  of 
God,"  sent  to  preach  deliverance  to  the  people. 

He  said  that  "  an  angel  of  God  had  appeared  to 
Joseph  Smith,  and  had  revealed  to  him  the  everlast- 
ing Gospel."  "  There  were  now,"  he  said,  "  living 
apostles  ordained  by  the  angels,  the  same  as  in  days 
of  old." 

At  first  I  thought,  "  This  is  indeed  glorious  news  ; 
but  can  it  be  true  r  The  reflection  then  came  that 
what  the  Lord  had  done  already  He  could  certainly 
do  again.  We  were  urged  to  be  "baptized  for  the 
remission  of  our  sins,"  with  the  promise  that  "  we 
should  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  witness 
unto  us  that  we  had  done  what  the  Lord  had  com- 
manded." I  knew  that  all  this  was  according  to 
Scripture,  and  I  dared  not  reject  it.  Indeed,  I  had 
no  desire  to  do  so.  I  received  it  gladly.'  It  was  life 
to  my  soul.  It  was  that  which  I  had  been  desiring 
for  years  ;  and  I  firmly  believed  that  the  Lord,  in  His 
mercy,  had  answered  my  prayers.  I  concluded  to  be 
baptized  ;  and  I  had  no  sooner  made  up  my  mind 
to  do  so,  than  I  wanted  it  done.  Two  weeks  after 
my  arrival  in  England,  I  became  formally  a  fliember 
of  the  Mormon  Church. 


1 8       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

I  felt  that  I  had  obeyed  the  commands  of  God,  and 
was  entitled  to  His  blessing ;  indeed,  I  felt  that  I 
was  blessed,  for  my  heart  was  full  of  joy  and  grati- 
tude. This  the  elders  taught  me  was  the  Spirit  of 
God.  I  now  believe  it  was  simply  the  answer  of  my 
conscience,  which  every  sincere  person  enjoys  in  all 
religions.     I  had  been  taught,  and  I  obeyed. 

I  felt  so  happy  and  satisfied  that  I  was  in  the  right 
path  that  I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  return  to 
France  and  the  isolation  which  I  felt  there.  I  there- 
fore determined  to  resign  my  position,  and  make  my 
home  among  the  "  Saints." 

A  few  months  later,  I  was  married  to  that  same 
young  Mormon  Elder  ;  and  then,  in  the  joint  prose- 
cution of  our  missionary  labours,  my  troubles  began. 
Some  of  my  friends  thought  I  was  risking  a  great 
deal  by  becoming  the  wife  of  a  man  whose  life  was 
devoted  to  the  Mormon  ministry ;  while  others 
thought  that  I  was  highly  honoured  in  getting  a 
husband  who  held  such  a  prominent  position  in  the 
church.  I  was,  however,  satisfied,  and  willingly  en- 
tered upon  my  new  sphere  as  a  missionary's  wife, 
feeling  sure  that  there  were  no  obstacles  so  great 
that  I  could  not  overcome  them.  How  little  could  I 
imagine  theii  the  life  that  was  before  me  ! 


CHAPTER   III. 

My  Husband  leaves  for  Italy — Experiences  as  the  Wife  of  a  Mission- 
ary— Privations  and  Struggles  with  Poverty  in  England — Suspicions 
of  Polygamy— The  "  Privilege"  of  "  Washing  the  Elders'  Feet"— 
Cheerful  Words  in  Time  of  Trouble. 

I  HAD  been  married  about  four  months  when  my 
husband  was  called  to  go  on  a  mission  to  Italy. 
What  terrible  news  this  was  to  me,  for  I  was  to  be 
left  behind  !  In  my  grief  I  exclaimed,  "  Ah  !  why 
could  they  not  have  selected  some  one  else  .-*"  Then 
I  remembered  how  that,  in  my  first  joy  and  gratitude 
after  being  baptized  into  the  church,  I  had  said  that 
I  would  do  any  thing  that  the  Lord  required  of  me  ; 
and  now  I  felt  that  He  was  going  to  put  me  to  the 
test.  Thus  it  was  that,  when  asked  by  one  of  the 
"  Twelve  Apostles"  if  I  were  willing  that  my  husband 
should  go,  I  answered  "  Yes,"  although  even  at  the 
time  I  thought  that  my  very  heart  would  break. 

As  Mormon  elders  receive  no  salary,  nor  any  re- 
muneration whatever,  my  husband  was  very  much 
troubled  about  leaving  me  dependent  on  others,  not 
being  sure  how  I  might  be  provided  for,  and  knowing 
better  than  I  did  what  want  I  should  probably  be 
exposed  to.  At  his  request,  an  old  and  valued  friend 
was  appointed  his  successor  ;  Mr.  S.  believing  that  in 
doing  so  I  should  be  provided  for  and  watched  over ! 

In  June,  1850,  Mr.  S.  went  on  his  mission,  in  com- 
pany with  Lorenzo  Snow,  one  of  the  "  Twelve  Apos- 


20       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

ties."  Though  terribly  grieved  at  his  departure,  I 
felt  some  pride  in  the  fact  that  my  husband  was  the 
first  of  tlie  elders  in  Britain  who  was  sent  on  a  foreign 
mission. 

For  the  first  few  weeks  after  his  departure,  my 
friends  gathered  around  me  and  provided  me  with 
all  that  I  needed.  Before  long,  however,  most  of  the 
"  Saints"  with  whom  I  had  been  on  intimate  terms 
began  to  prepare  for  emigration  to  Utah.  I  soon 
saw  that  I  should  be  obliged  to  break  up  my  home, 
and  be  contented  with  one  room.  This  I  did  cheer- 
fully ;  for,  after  the  great  trial  of  separating  from  my 
husband  for  three  years — as  I  then  thought — this 
was  comparatively  nothing. 

I  got  but  little  assistance  from  the  church,  and  the 
question  which  now  presented  itself  to  my  mind  most 
imperatively  was,  "  What  can  I  do  r  The  reply, 
mentally  returned,  was,  "  Nothing  !"  I  could  only 
teach  English.  But  to  whom  could  I  teach  English 
in  England  ?  Still,  I  was  not  altogether  useless  or 
helpless.  I  could  sew  very  well ;  but  I  had  as  yet  no 
confidence  in  myself,  never  having  done  any  thing  of 
the  kind  before  as  a  matter  of  business.  I  was  in 
the  greatest  trouble.  I  had  neither  food  nor  fire.  I 
could  not  venture  to  write  to  my  husband  about  this, 
for  fear  of  unfitting  him  for  carrying  out  fully  his 
mission,  which  I  then  believed  would  be  a  sin. 

I  then  resolved  that  I  would  go  round  and  visit 
some  of  my  lady  acquaintances,  who  had  frequently 
invited  me  to  come  to  their  houses.  I  wished,  it 
possible,  to  see  whether,  through  their  influence  and 
introduction,  I  could  do  any  thing  to  earn  a  little 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       21 

money.  Besides  which  I  had  another  reason :  I 
thought  that  possibly  some  one  would  ask  me  to  dine 
with  them.  I  was  hungry  enough,  but  I  walked 
about  the  city,  afraid  to  carry  out  my  resolution, 
until  I  was  quite  worn  out ;  for  I  feared  in  my  pride 
that  they  might  suspect  that  I  came  purposely  for 
something  to  eat.  Of  this  I  was  perfectly  ashamed. 
No  one  who  has  not  personally  passed  through  such 
an  ordeal  can  have  any  idea  of  what  my  feelings  were. 

The  shame  I  felt  was  only  equalled  by  my  necessi- 
ties, innocent  as  I  was  of  any  fault  which  could  have 
placed  me  in  this  position.  I  was  utterly  miserable, 
and  did  not  venture  to  call  upon  any  one,  but  turned 
my  steps  toward  my  dreary  home — only  to  fast  and 
pray.  The  fasting,  however,  was  not  in  my  pro-' 
gramme  at  that  time.  I  had  no  inclination  for  it, 
although  I  was  utterly  unable  to  prevent  it.  I  then 
earnestly  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  help  me,  and  at  the 
same  time  I  thanked  Him  that  I  was  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  for  His  sake. 

The  time  was  fast  approaching  when  I  knew  that 
I  should  be  compelled  to  have  fire  and  other  necessa- 
ries ;  but  where  to  get  them  I  knew  not. 

One  evening  I  was  asked  to  dine  at  the  house  of  a 
friend  where  some  of  the  elders  from  Salt  Lake  were 
visiting,  and  I  accepted  the  invitation  with  a  great 
deal  of  pleasure,  for  more  than  one  reason.  It  was 
thought  a  great  privilege  at  that  time  to  meet  with 
American  elders.  Some  of  these  gentlemen  assumed 
such  authority  tiiat  they  impressed  the  "  Saints"  with 
the  idea  that  they  were  little  gods.  IVe  had  not  then 
seen  them  at  home  I 


22       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

I  went  to  dine  with  these  brethren,  and  as  it  is  a 
Mormon  woman's  "  privilege"  [?]  to  sit  and  "  listen" 
to  the  "  lords  of  creation,"  without  joining  in  the  con- 
versation at  all,  I  had  then,  of  course,  that  same  privi- 
lege of  listening  while  dinner  was  preparing. 

I  can  not  tell  the  horror  of  what  I  then  heard. 
They  were  talking  among  themselves  about  Polyga- 
my, but  in  such  a  covert  way  that  it  was  evident  that 
they  thought  I  could  not  understand  what  was  said. 
Neither  should  I  have  understood  it  had  it  not  been 
that  I  had  heard  some  whisperings  of  this  kind  once, 
before  my  husband  went  away,  though  then  I  did  not 
believe  it.  I  had  asked  him  about  the  new  doctrine, 
and  he  had  reassured  me  by  stating  that  there  was 
"  no  truth  in  it ;"  that  it  was  a  slander,  promulgated 
by  some  evil-tongued  people  to  injure  "  the  cause." 
I  heard,  however,  something  that  day  which  troubled 
me  very  much,  and  I  resolved  to  ask  these  "  brethren" 
now  present  to  tell  me  the  honest  truth — whether 
Polygamy  really  existed  in  Utah,  or  did  not. 

They  positively  denied  its  existence,  and  though  I 
did  believe  then  that  what  they  said  was  true,  I 
afterwards  discovered  much  which  troubled  and  wor- 
ried me,  and  being  constantly  anxious  to  learn  the 
truth,  there  was  not  much  that  escaped  my  notice. 

I  became  wretchedly  suspicious.  At  times,  I  even 
fancied  that  my  husband  had  deceived  me  ;  and  that 
thought  was  to  me  madness.  I  said — whatever  other 
men  may  do,  my  husband  will  not  deceive  me.  O 
dear  !  no.     That  I  could  not  believe. 

I  now  felt  more  inclined  for  fasting  than  for  pray- 
ing.    In  fact,  just  then  it  would  have  been  utterly 


I J  -A  ^ 


WHAT   I    KNOW   ABOUT   POLYGAMYwJyQ^^  ^^ 


impossible  for  me  to  pray,  I  was  so  wretched.  Doubts 
and  fears  had  begun  to  creep  into  my  mind,  and  it 
appeared  to  me  (if  I  may  say  so)  that  the  Lord,  like 
a  hard  task-master,  was  exacting  from  me  more  than 
I  had  bargained  to  do  or  suffer  when  I  embraced 
Mormonism.  These  troubled  thoughts  were  not  calcu- 
lated to  make  me  feel  happy  in  my  relations  with  the 
church,  and  I  tried  to  overcome  my  feelings,  and 
attain  to  a  better  state  of  mind,  trusting  sincerely  in 
God  that  all  would  yet  be  well. 

But  to  return  to  my  difficulty  in  earning  a  living. 

After  some  time  I  finally  got  a  little  plain  sewing 
to  do.  This  enabled  me  to  win  my  daily  bread  and 
to  pay  the  rent  of  my  room,  as  well  as  to  make  a  few 
scanty  preparations  for  the  little  stranger  which  I 
now  daily  expected.  The  reader  may  suppose  that 
it  was,  after  all,  a  very  hard  struggle. 

Now  began  the  arduous  task  of  ^endeavouring  to 
support  myself  and  my  babe.  In  this  dear  little  one- 
there  was  to  me  another  strong  incentive  to  exertion. 
But  how  and  where  I  was  to  get  work,  and  what  I  was 
to  do — and,  in  fact,  what  I  could  do — I  did  not  know. 
There  was  nothing  for  me  as  far  as  I  could  see.  I 
was  willing  to  do  any  work,  if  only  I  could  get  it  to 
do — that  was  now  the  difficulty.  Yet  I  determined 
not  to  be  foiled.  I  managed  to  live ;  but  how } 
Sometimes,  for  two  weeks  together,  I  had  nothing 
but  dry  bread.  I  became  pale  and  thin,  and  so  weak 
that  I  could  scarcely  walk. 

I  now  became  better  acquainted  with  Mormonism, 
as  I  was  able  to  go  .more  among  the  Saints.  But  I 
lost  confidence  in  the  missionary  brethren  when  I 


24       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

saw  how  familiarly  they  conducted  themselves  with 
the  young  "  sisters  ;"  for  I  knew  that  the  elders  I 
allude  to  were  married  men.  They  taught  the 
"  sisters,"  both  married  and  single,  that  it  was  their 
'brivilege  to  wash  the  elders'  feet,  and  to  comb  their  hair, 
and  in  fact  to  wait  on  them  in  every  way  imaginable. 
This  I  mean  literally.  There  was  nothing  symboli- 
cal about  it,  and  many  of  our  silly  girls  liked  nothing 
better.  I  saw  even  then  that  this  was  not  right,  and 
it  annoyed  me  greatly. 

With  the  President  of  the  London  Conference  and 
his  family  I  was  well  acquainted,  and  I  knew  that 
this  man  came  down  from  London  to  the  Southamp- 
ton Conference  about  every  two  or  three  weeks,  to 
court  a  young  "sister."  He  supplied  her  with 
money,  and  otherwise  acted  in  a  way  which  appeared 
to  me  almost  scandalous.  His  conduct  shook  the 
faith  of  some  of  the  older  Saints.  In  these  days  the 
elders  would  take  young  girls  to  the  theatres  and 
other  places  of  amusement,  while  their  own  wives 
remained  at  home.  I  sincerely  believe  now  that 
many  of  these  men  taught  Polygamy  to  the  girls, 
while  they  denied  it  to  the  public. 

I  felt  lonely,  wretched,  and  disappointed  in  my  re- 
ligion, though  I  still  believed  it.  Yet  I  dared  not 
ask  my  husband  to  abandon  his  mission  and  come 
home.  I  resolved  that  I  would  try  to  endure  to  the 
end.  Then,  too,  I  knew  that  even  at  the  worst  he 
would  return  some  time,  and  all  my  troubles,  I  felt, 
would  then  be  ended  ;  for  I  believed  that  he  would  be 
able  to  explain  all  to  me — yes,  every  thing. 

About  this  time  I  learned  that  Lorenzo  Snow  (the 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       2$ 

"  Apostle"  in  whose  company  Mr.  S.  went  to  Italy) 
was  on  his  way  to  England.  This  intelligence  made 
me  very  happy,  as  may  be  supposed.  I  waited  anx- 
iously to  see  him.  On  his  arrival,  he  came  directly 
to  my  house.  He  seemed  very  much  shocked  to  see 
the  change  in  my  appearance,  and  said  that  he  would 
send  for  my  husband  to  come  home  immediately. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Our  Mission  to  Switzeiland — Introducing  Mormonism — ^Terrible  Trials 
of  Faith— Geneva— Days  without  Food— The  new  Convert— "The 
Labourer  worthy  of  his  Hire" — Timely  Aid. 

After  about  a  year's  absence,  Mr.  S.  returned  to 
England,  and  we  were  invited  to  attend  a  conference 
of  the  Saints,  which  was  to  be  held  in  London,  in  June, 
185 1.  During  this  conference,  the  "Apostle"  Snow 
expressed  his  great  indignation  at  the  manner  in 
which  I  had  been  neglected,  and  said  that  I  should 
no  longer  remain  in  connexion  with  the  Southampton 
Conference.  It  was  decided  that  my  husband  should 
go  on  a  mission  to  Switzerland  ;  that  I  should  go 
with  him,  and  that  we  should  begin  our  missionary 
labours  in  Geneva.  One  great  incentive  to  this  re- 
solution was,  that  I  could  speak  the  French  language 
fluently.  It  was,  therefore,  thought  that  I  should  be 
of  great  service  in  assisting  Mr.  S.  with  his  work.  I 
was  ready  to  do  any  thing  that  might  be  required  ot 
me,  if  only  I  could  be  with  him. 

Mr.  S.  had  once  more  silenced  my  fears  about  Poly- 
gamy, and  I  was  again  happy. 

We  started  on  our  journey — Mr.  S.,  myself,  and  our 
dear  little  Clara,  who  was  then  only  six  months  old. 
How  much  I  loved  that  little  child,  no  tongue  can 
tell !  Had  she  not  been  my  sole  companion  througl^ 
so  many  weary  days  and  nights  of  sorrow  ? 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       2/ 

On  our  arrival  at  Geneva,  we  commenced  our  mis- 
sionary labours  immediately  ;  but  we  made  very  little 
progress,  as  Mr.  S.  was  not  much  acquainted  with  the 
French  language,  and  the  Genevese  do  not  readily 
receive  strangers.  We  had  but  a  small  sum  of  money 
left  when  we  reached  our  destination,  and  we  econo- 
mized as  much  as  we  possibly  could,  hoping  to  make 
what  we  had  last  until  some  -  one  should  join  the 
church,  who  might  be  able  to  assist  the  mission.  We 
had  full  faith  and  confidence  that  the  Lord  would 
raise  up  friends  to  aid  us  in  the  work.  But  time 
rolled  on,  and  we  had  laboured  faithfully  for  several 
months  with  apparently  little  success. 

My  whole  soul  was  in  my  mission,  and  I  was  re- 
solved to  fulfil  Tt,  as  far  as  human  power,  aided  by  the 
grace  of  God,  could  do  so.  I  sought  every  opportu- 
nity of  introducing  among  the  ladies  the  Mormon 
faith ;  and  I  tried  in  every  way  to  live  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  be  an  example  to  those  who  might  be 
converted  and  join  the  church,  or  who  might  be  in- 
clined to  do  so.  We  kept  "  The  Word  of  Wisdom"  * 
strictly,  and  never  took  tea,  coffee,  wine,  or  warm 
drinks  of  any  kind  for  years. 

■  Mr.  S.  studied  early  and  late  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  the  French  language,  hoping  soon  to  be  able  to 
make  some  impression  upon  the  people. 

One  day  he  received  a  letter  from  an  "  infidel,"  who 
lived  in  a  neighbouring  canton,  asking  him  to  come 
and  see  him,  in  order  that  they  might  talk  over  Mor- 
monism,  for  he  had  heard  of  us  and  our  doctrine.    We 

♦  A  "  Revelation"  of  Joseph  Smith,  which  all  good  Mormons 
observed. 


28        WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

were  very  much  pleased  at  this  invitation,  for  if 
seemed  now  that  the  Lord  was  about  to  do  something. 
Mr.  S.  accordingly  went  to  see  this  man.  He  stayed 
with  him  several  days,  convinced  him  of  the  truth  of 
the  new  faith,  and,  finally,  baptized  him.  He  then 
returned  home. 

Our  money  was  now  nearly  gone,  and  I  was  very 
weak  from  lack  of  proper  nourishment,  and  dispirited 
by  continual  anxiety.  I  caught  a  severe  cold,  and 
was  confined  to  my  bed  for  a  time.  My  courage  at 
last  entirely  failed  me.  Weak  and  sick  as  I  was,  not 
a  soul  came  to  my  room.  In  fact,  who  should  come  .'' 
I  had  no  friend  there.  The  very  knowledge  that  we 
had  come  to  set  forth  a  strange  and  unpopular  reli- 
gion, made  every  one  avoid  me. 

My  husband  was  sad  and  very  anxious.  Nor  need 
this  excite  wonder  when  it  is  considered  that  there 
was  nothing  to  make  life  pleasant  to  either  of  us,  ex- 
cept the  thought  that  we  were  both  the  servants  of 
God,  and  had  dedicated  our  lives  to  His  service. 

About  a  month  after  the  return  of  Mr.  S.  from  the 
house  of  the  gentleman  whom  he  had  baptized,  we 
received  a  letter  from  him.  As  it  was  opened,  a  piece 
of  gold  fell  on  the  table.  It  afterward  appeared  that 
this  new  convert,  although  he  "  suspected  it  might 
be  useful,"  did  not  like  to  offer  money  to  Mr.  S.  But 
when  he  had  gone,  he  determined  to  send  a  trifle, 
saying,  at  the  same  time,  that "  the  labourer  is  worthy 
of  his  hire."  Never  was  a  Scripture  phrase  more 
truthful  and  welcome  in  its  application.  We  were 
very  grateful  indeed  for  this  timely  help,  small  as  it 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       29 

was,  for  it  seemed  to  us  like  a  recognition  of  our 
work.     How  great  are  trifles  to  the  hopeful  mind ! 

There  were  dark  clouds  on  every  side,  and  in  mo- 
ments of  despondency  we  almost  feared  that  they 
would  never  clear  away.  Yet  in  all  this  trouble,  our 
faith  remained  unshaken  ;  and  even  in  the  darkest 
hour  of  trial,  we  felt  happy  in  the  belief  in  the  divi- 
nity of  Mormonism. 

With  all  our  faith,  one  question  was,  perforce,  ever 
uppermost  in  our  minds,  how  to  obtain  the  necessary 
means  of  subsistence }  This  was  an  unanswerable 
difficulty.  With  the  very  greatest  economy,  the  time 
came  at  last  when  our  money  was  all  gone.  We  had 
not  a  coin,  or  any  representative  of  money,  and  we 
had  no  reason  to  hope  for  any.  We  were  in  a  strange 
country,  among  strangers,  and  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
without  fire  and  without  food.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
In  the  anguish  of  my  soul,  I  exclaimed,  with  bitter 
tears,  '*  Look  down,  O  God  !  in  Thy  mercy,  upon  my 
innocent  little  one,  who  is  now  suffering  from  cold 
and  hunger,  while  we,  her  parents,  are  devoting  our 
lives,  our  all,  to  Thy  service."   * 

In  this  trying  hour  we  were  speechless.  We  both 
felt  our  helplessness,  but  neither  dared  to  speak  to 
the  other  about  that  which  weighed  so  heavily  upon 
our  hearts.  It  was  only  our  belief  in  the  divinity  of 
our  mission  that  sustained  us.  Incredible  as  it  may 
appear,  for  nearly  one  week  all  that  we  had  to  exist 
upon  was  about  a  pint  of  corn  flour  or  maize,  and 
that  was  principally  reserved  for  our  child. 

Up  to  this  time,  but  two  persons  had  joined  the 
church  in  Geneva.     They  were  poor  men,  and  their 


30       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

wives  were  very  much  opposed  to  the  step  which  they 
had  taken  in  embracing  Mormonism,  and  thus  there 
was  very  little  to  expect  from  them.  We  were  living 
in  a  furnished  room,  and  my  little  daughter  was  a 
great  favourite  with  the  family  in  whose  house  we 
were.  I  was  not  sorry  for  this  ;  for  in  the  time  of  our 
greatest  distress,  I  used  often  quietly  to  open  my 
door  at  their  meal  times,  and  the  child  would  make 
her  way  to  the  dining-room,  and  get  something  to 
eat.  Humiliating  as  this  was  to  me,  I  felt  satisfied 
for  a  while,  at  least,  that  she  was  not  suffering  from 
hunger  as  much  as  we  ourselves  were. 

At  the  end  of  that  week,  when  it  seemed  that  we 
could  not  exist  another  day  without  some  nourish- 
ment, Mr.  S.  went  to  the  house  of  one  of  the  newly 
converted  brethren,  whom  I  have  mentioned,  with 
the  intention  of  telling  him  of  our  peculiarly  distress- 
ing circumstances  ;  but  when  he  arrived  there,  he 
really  had  not  courage  to  do  so,  and  he  returned  again 
without  saying  any  thing  of  the  matter.  My  heart 
sank  within  me,  for  I  entered  into  his  thoughts,  al- 
though he  did  not  speak.  My  little  one  was  then 
reposing  in  my  arms.  She  had  cried  herself  to 
sleep,  hungry  and  cold. 

I  could  not  say  any  thing  to  my  husband  when  he 
came  home  ;  for  I  felt  instinctively  that  he  had  been 
unsuccessful,  and  I  was  almost  choking  with  emotion, 
which  I  attempted  to  suppress.  As  we  sat  there 
silently  in  the  twilight,  neither  of  us  venturing  to 
speak  to  the  other,  I  mentally  prayed  to  the  Lord, 
(if  it  was  His  will,)  that  rather  than  see  my  darling 
wake  up  again  to  hunger  and  suffering,  she  might 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       3! 

quietly  sleep  her  sweet  young  life  away.  As  I  now 
write,  the  recollection  of  that  time  comes  back  so 
vividly  that  my  eyes  fill  with  tears. 

While  sitting  in  this  fearful  gloom,  which  afterward 
seemed  to  me  the  most  solemn  hour  of  my  life,  I 
heard  a  step  in  the  hall,  and  something  whispered  to 
me,  "  Help  is  coming."  A  moment  after,  the  brother 
whom  Mr.  Stenhouse  had  called  upon  entered  the 
room  with  some  provisions,  and  he  slipped  a  five-franc 
piece  into  my  hand.  Mr.  S.  had  said  nothing  to  him  ; 
but  after  he  had  left  the  house,  this  brother  said  that 
from  my  husband's  manner,  he  felt  convinced  that  we 
were  suffering,  as  he  knew  that  as  missionaries  we 
had  no  means  of  subsistence,  and  that  according  to 
the  usual  custom  among  the  Mormons,  we  had  to 
preach  "  without  purse  or  scrip." 

The  assistance  thus  received  was  a  relief  from  pre- 
sent want,  but  the  future  seemed  like  a  dark  cloud  to 
hang  over  my  path.  I  was  now  in  worse  circum- 
stances than  I  had  been  at  the  birth  of  my  first  child  ; 
for  I  was  among  strangers,  and  had  absolutely  no- 
thing but  what  the  few  brethren  were  kind  enough 
to  bring  to  us  from  time  to  time. 

I  again  found,  as  I  had  previously  experienced  at 
many  other  periods  of  my  life,  the  truth  of  the  old 
verse  : 

"  Behind  a  frowning  providence, 
God  hides  a  smiling  face." 

The  "  smiling  face"  this  time  took  once  more  the 
form  of  the  "  Apostle"  Snow.  Oh  !  how  glad  I  was 
to  see  him.  He  had,  as  I  have  related,  brought  me 
joy  and  gladness  once  before  when   I  was  in  great 


32       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

trouble,  and  I  almost  looked  upon  him  as  my  good 
genius.  After  all,  I  was  not  so  very  much  mistaken  ; 
for  he  gave  me  a  little  money  to  provide  for  our  pre- 
sent necessities,  and  told  Mr.  Stenhouse  that  after 
a  while  he  should  return  to  England,  and  raise  what- 
ever funds  might  be  needful  to  enable  us  to  carry  out 
our  mission  ;  for  he  plainly  saw  that,  however  endur- 
ing faith  might  be,  no  one  could  live  without  money. 
In  fact,  the  American  elders,  as  I  afterward  discov- 
ered, did  not  themselves  try,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, to  work  unaided,  although  they  had  no  objec- 
tion to  the  British  elders  doing  so. 

After  the  birth  of  my  second  child,  we  went  to 
Lausanne, Canton  de  Vaud ;  for  Mr.  Stenhouse  thought 
it  would  be  better  for  me  to  remain  there  during  his 
absence  in  England,  as  he  had,  in  addition  to  this 
"  infidel,"  whom  he  had  baptized,  m^de  the  acquain- 
tance of  a  very  good  man  of  very  excellent  family. 
In  this  gentleman's  house  I  engaged  apartments,  ex- 
pecting to  pay  for  them,  but  he  never  permitted  me  to 
do  so  ;  and  from  that  day,  I  never  suffered  in  Switzer- 
land from  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

I  lived  very  quietly  and  comfortably  for  three 
months,  during  the  absence  of  Mr.  S.  in  England.  I 
had  not  much,  it  is  true  ;  but  then  a  very  little  sufficed 
for  my  wants.  I  had  that,  and  I  was  satisfied  and 
happy  ;  for  this  Mr.  B.  and  his  family  were  very  kind 
indeed  to  me,  and  even  now,  as  I  review  the  past,  I 
can  say,  with  all  truthfulness,  that  from  the  com- 
mencement of  my  missionary  life — now  over  twenty 
years  ago — till  I  left  Mormonism,  that  brief  period  in 
Switzerland  was  the  only  happy  time  I  ever  knew. 


X"- 


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ALIT 


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CHAPTER  V. 

The  "  Revelation"  on  Polygamy — How  I  received  it — Left  without 
Hope — ^The  Doctrine  first  taught — "Beauties"  of  the  System — My 
first  Convert  to  Polygamy — ^A  Scene — How  Work  progressed — Dis- 
aster to  Swiss  emigration. 

Mr.  S.^teturned  from  England,  and,  after  a  while, 
began  in  conversation  to  introduce — gently  and  enig- 
matically, I  thought— the  subject  of  Polygamy,  at  the 
same  time  telling  me  that  he  ''did  not  know''  that  it 
was  true,  but  that  he  had  heard  that  there  had  been 
a  revelation  given  about  it.  He  dreaded  to  tell  me 
the  truth  ;  but  I  had  heard  enough,  and  determined 
not  to  accept  the  doctrine.  Still,  at  times,  I  tried  to 
hide  my  feelings  from  him  ;  for  I  hoped  that,  after 
all,  the  intelligence  might  even  now  not  prove  true. 
Vain  hope !  for  very  soon  the  "  revelation"  was  sent 
from  "  Zion,"  with  instructions  to  make  no  secret 
of  it. 

A  printed  copy  of  the  "  revelation"  was  given  to 
me  to  read.  I  was  just  about  to  sit  down  to  the 
breakfast-table.  There  were  present  a  Protestant 
minister,  whom  Mr.  S.  had  baptized,  and  two  Mor- 
mon elders.  The  minister  knew  nothing  of  the  "  re- 
velation ;"  but  my  husband  and  the  two  elders  looked 
at  me,  to  watch  the  effect  produced  upon  my  mind 
by  its  perusal,  with  an  interest  and  solemnity  as  if 
they  were  breaking  to  me  cautiously  the  news  of  my 
mothers  death. 


34       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

I  immediately  left  the  room  and  sought  the  retire- 
ment of  my  own  apartment,  where,  after  locking  the 
door,  I  began  to  read  the  document ;  but  before  I 
had  got  through  one  half  I  threw  it  aside,  feeling  al- 
together rebellious  against  God.  I  now  began  to  feel 
perfectly  reckless,  and  even  willing  to  throw  aside 
my  religion,  and  take  "  my  chance  of  salvation,"  ra- 
ther than  submit  to  Polygamy ;  for  I  felt  that  that 
new  doctrine  was  a  degradation  to  womankind.  I 
asked  myself,  "  Why  did  the  Lord  wish  to  humiliate 
my  sex  in  this  manner  ?"  though  at  the  same  time  I 
believed,  as  I  was  told,  that  the  "  revelation"  was  in- 
deed sent  from  God.  Perhaps  if  I  had  kept  calm, 
and  had  I  read  it  through  very  carefully  and  allowed 
my  own  judgment  to  be  exercised  upon  it,  I  might 
have  detected  there  and  then  that  there  was  no  di- 
vinity in  it,  as  I  afterwards  discovered,  to  my  satis- 
faction, when  I  read  it  a  second  time,  after  the  lapse 
of  many  years. 

After  some  time  I  began  to  feel  a  little  more  calm, 
and  was  able  to  reason  with  myself  about  Polygamy. 
If,  said  I,  this  "  revelation"  is  of  God,  (and  of  course 
it  is,)  then  I  ought  not  to  oppose  it.  It  never  once 
entered  my  mind  that  any  man  would  dare  to  give  a 
revelation  to  the  world  as  coming  from  God  except  it 
was  tpue.  Then,  I  thought,  if  the  Lord  requires  me 
to  submit,  it  must  be  for  some  good  purpose  ;  for  "  He 
doeth  all  things  well."  I  must,  therefore,  try  to  sub- 
due this  wicked  and  rebellious  nature  of  mine,  and 
submit  to  His  divine  will,  and  surely  He  will  aid 
and  bless  me.  After  these  reflections  and  constant 
prayer,  I  managed  to  subdue  my  disobedient  heart 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       35 

sufficiently  to  make  my  appearance  again  among  the 
brethren  in  the  breakfast-room.  But,  oh  !  that  was 
indeed  a  wretched  day  for  me  ;  and  every  day  after 
was  more  wretched  than  the  previous  one.  Polygamy 
was  the  last  thing  I  thought  of  at  night,  and  the  first 
thing  in  the  morning.  It  was  with  me  in  my  waking 
hours  and  in  the  dead  of  the  night.  It  haunted  me 
like  a  spectre.  It  was  like  a  fearful  blight  that  had 
fallen  upon  me  and  was  withering  my  soul.  One 
thought  was  ever  present  in  my  mind — that  thought, 
Polygamy  ! 

How  should  I  be  ever  able  to  bear  it  ?  In  a  mo- 
ment, every  thing  in  life  appeared  to  have  lost  its 
charm  for  me,  except  my  darling  children,  and  they 
seemed  now  to  be  dearer  than  ever ;  for  I  felt  that 
t/tey  were  indeed  my  own,  and  that  no  one  could  take 
them  away  from  me.  But  how  I  mourned  over  my 
little  daughter ;  for  I  felt  that  she,  perhaps,  would 
some  day  suffer  as  I  did.  Oh!  I  exclaimed,  may 
heaven  forbid  it !  She  is  to-day  a  polygamic  wife,  and 
the  mother  of  two  children  ! 

I  would  not  have  my  readers  think  that  I  bore  all 
my  troubles  in  the  introduction  of  Polygamy  meekly, 
like  a  saint.  Indeed  I  did  not  ;  and  I  firmly  believe 
that  I  was  a  sore  trial  to  my  husband.  I  was  wicked 
and  rebellious  at  times,  and  said  very  bitter  things  of 
"  the  Prophet  of  the  Lord,"  and  all  his  sex,  my  hus- 
band included  ;  for  I  began  to  hate  the  very  name  of 
"man."  I  am  afraid  that  Mr.  S.  was  very  much 
shocked  indeed,  for  he  was  then  a  devoted  Mormon. 
He  often  told  me  that  I  was  a  great  clog  to  him,  Jind 


36        WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

more  than  once  he  said  he  could  not  enjoy  the  Spirit 
of  God  and  live  with  me. 

But  I  was  not  always  so  rebellious.  There  were 
days  when  I  was  full  of  sorrow  and  regret  for  what  I 
deemed  my  wicked  thoughts  about  "  celestial  mar- 
riage," and  then  I  would  fast  and  pray,  and  seek  for- 
giveness from  the  Lord  and  from  my  husband.  But 
even  in  my  best  moments,  I  could  never  bear  to  hear 
him  speak  about  Polygamy  ;  and  whenever  the  elders 
came  to  our  house,  the  painful  topic  was  sure  to  be 
discussed.  As  soon  as  I  heard  it,  all  my  angry  ex- 
citement returned,  and  I  instantly  felt  a  spirit  of  re- 
bellion stirring  within  me.  I  could  not  help  it.  I 
felt  that  womankind  was  insulted  whenever  the  sub- 
ject was  mentioned,  and  I  never  got  over  the  feeling. 
Oh  !  I  thought,  how  shall  I  ever  "  get  salvation"  with 
such  an  offending  heart  as  mine .? 

It  was  necessary,  however,  for  me  to  do  something ; 
for  I  was  told  by  my  husband,  and  the  other  elders 
who  were  present  at  the  time,  that  it  devolved  on  me 
to  teach  the  hateful  doctrine  to  the  women  of  Switz- 
erland. That  was  to  be  my  mission,  and  I,  poor,  de- 
luded thing  that  I  was,  believed  it  to  be  so.  I  con- 
cealed my  feelings  as  best  I  could,  for  I  was  obliged 
to  nerve  myself  to  the  task,  and  prepare  to  perform 
my  duty,  trusting  in  God  to  assist  me.  How  fearful 
a  task  this  was  ! 

My  sorrow  concerning  the  introduction  of  Polygamy 
was  not  like  any  other  grief,  for  it  was  utterly  with- 
out hope.  Had  its  teachings  been  for  this  life  only, 
I  could  have  borne  it  with  more  fortitude,  and  should 
have  endeavoured  to  resign  myself  to  my  fate.      But 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       3/ 

we  were  taught  that  it  was  to  be  "  for  time  and  for 
eternity."  When  I  thought  that  some  time  my  life 
must  end,  and  that  then  earthly  sorrows  would  cease, 
this  brought  me  no  comfort ;  for  the  cause  of  my  grief 
was  still  to  exist  beyond  the  grave.  Polygamy  was 
to  be  practised  in  heaven  as  well  as  on  the  earth. 
The  only  possible  hope  that  remained  to  me  was 
that  there — in  another  world — I  might  perhaps  be  so 
changed  as  not  to  know  myself  or  any  one  else ;  or 
that  my  feelings  might  be  so  greatly  altered  from 
what  they  were  in  this  world  that  I  should  not  real- 
ize any  pain  from  what  we  were  taught  were  the 
matrimonial  arrangements  in  heaven. 

Feeling,  as  I  did,  so  acutely  myself,  how  was  I  to 
break  the  intelligence  of  this  new  and  terrible  "  reve- 
lation" to  those  honest,  loving  women  with  whom  I 
was  acquainted  ?  I  shrank  from  the  task  of  inflict- 
ing so  much  pain.  Their  own  husbands  had  not 
courage  to  tell  them,  and  I  am  sure  that  I  had  not. 
But  I  had  already  been  instructed  in  the  manner  in 
which  I  was  to  endeavour  to  impart  to  them  a  know- 
ledge of  the  doctrine.  I  had  also  myself  been  taught 
respecting  the  beauties  of  the  "system,"  so  that  I 
might  be  able  to  introduce  it  in  a  proper  manner.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  I  failed  to  see  those  "  beauties." 

It  was  soon  settled  which  of  the  sisters  was  to  be 
the  first  victim.  She  was  one  whom  we  all  dreaded 
most,  although  for  rather  peculiar  reasons.  She  was 
a  good  woman  ;  but,  like  myself,  possessed  the  weak- 
ness of  being  too  fond  of  her  husband.  She  was  pos- 
sessed also  of  a  very  high  spirit,  and  was  indeed  a 
completely  spoiled  child. 


38       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

\ 

It  was  told  her  that  I  had  some  new  principle  to 
communicate  to  her  from  "  Zion,"  and  she  was  sent 
to  my  apartment  to  hear  it. 

"  No,  I  have  nothing  to  tell  you,"  I  said. 

"  Yes,  you  have,"  she  replied ;  "  for  your  husband 
and  mine  said  so." 

"  No,"  I  answered  ;  "  if  there  was  any  thing,  I  can 
not  now  remember  what  it  might  be."  The  truth 
was,  my  courage  had  all  left  me. 

I  stood  there,  pale  and  trembling,  even  though  she 
was  my  intimate  friend.  She  noticed  it,  and  feared 
that  I  was  ill.  I  was  ill — worse  than  she  thought  or 
could  yet  imagine. 

However,  I  presently  regained  composure  enough 
to  commence  telling  her,  and  she  listened  quietly  for 
a  while,  when  suddenly  she  sprang  up,  and,  with  great 
emotion,  cried,  "  O  mon  Dieu  !  Quelle  religion  des 
animaux  !  And  your  husband  to  come  to  us  Swiss 
with  such  a  religion  as  that !"  She  perfectly  scared 
me.  She  nearly  annihilated  me  with  her  looks. 
What  a  commencement  to  my  mission  ! 

I  did  not  attempt  to  stop  her  or  get  away,  say 
what  she  liked,  for  I  knew  from  my  own  experience 
what  she  suffered.  I  believed,  however,  that  there 
was  no  other  way  for  her  to  "  obtain  salvation,"  and 
my  heart  ached  for  her.  After  she  had  spent  her 
wrath,  she  came  and  sat  by  me  and  said,  "  Does  my 
husband  believe  this  ?" 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  he  does." 

Then  followed  another  outburst  of  grief  and  rage 
fearful  to  witness.  I  tried  to  soothe  her,  but  it  was 
useless.     She  was  one  of  those  gushing,  impulsive 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       39 

women,  who  give  way  to  passions  of  grief,  and  I  saw 
that  it  was  best  to  leave  her  alone.  When  she  be- 
came more  calm,  we  talked  over  it  and  wept  together, 
and  together  knelt  and  prayed.  I  was  almost  going 
to  add,  we  swore  together  in  the  same  breath  !  This, 
of  course,  we  did  not  do.  It  was  something  else  ! 
Finally,  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  we  would 
both  of  us  fight  against  the  doctrine,  and  that  we 
would  likewise  teach  all  the  sisters  to  do  so. 

This  was  certainly  a  pretty  state  of  affairs  ! 

After  she  had  left  the  room,  I  began  to  feel 
ashamed  of  myself,  that  I,  a  missionary's  wife,  should 
have  thus  given  way.  Here,  I  thought,  is  all  ray 
work  to  do  over  again.  However,  she  repented,  and 
I  repented  ;  and  we  now  agreed  to  talk  to  the  other 
sisters  about  it,  and  see  how  they  would  take  it.  I 
felt  a  little  better,  now  that  I  had  a  companion  in 
misery  who  could  sympathize  with  me  ;  and  we  con- 
soled each  other,  neither  of  us  believing  that  ^«r  hus- 
bands would  ever  practically  adopt  the  doctrine,  or, 
at  least,  not  for  a  long  time  to  come. 

We  taught  it  to  the  other  sisters  ;  but  it  was  the 
same  sad  story  over  and  over  again.  Some  rebelled, 
and  some  even  fell  sick  over  it.  They  all  lost  their 
joyous,  happy  looks  ;  and  now  understood  why,  for 
some  time  past,  I  had  appeared  so  unhappy  and 
miserable. 

At  every  council  of  the  missionary  brethren,  the 
sisters  became  suspicious  of  their  husbands  and  what 
teaching  they  might  be  listening  to.  It  was  very 
evident  that  Polygamy  was  not  going  to  contribute 
in  any  way  to  our  peace  of  mind  or  happiness.      We 


40       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

could  not  see  how  it  was  possible  that  any  good  could 
result  from  it.  The  missionary  elders,  on  the  con- 
trary, seemed  deeply  interested  in  the  new  doctrine, 
and  saw  "  glories"  and  "  beauties"  in  it  that  had  never 
been  dreamed  of  before.  They  could  see  far  away 
into  the  eternal  world  the  "  exaltation"  that  awaited 
the  women  who  would  "  give  wives  to  their  hus- 
bands." 

The  teaching  of  the  doctrine  of  plural  wives,  in 
Switzerland,  was  fortunately  limited.  The  Protestant 
minister,  of  whom  I  before  spoke,  received  at  first  the 
announcement  of  "  celestial  marriage"  with  unfeigned 
pleasure.  He  had  no  son  to  transmit  his  name  to 
posterity,  and  he  flattered  himself  with  hope.  But 
his  wife,  who  was  not  very  young,  attacked  him  so 
violently  that  he  soon  abandoned  not  only  the  ideas 
of  patriarchal  marriage,  but  also  Mormonism  itself 

A  sister  of  the  lady  to  whom  I  had  first  taught  the 
doctrine  of  Polygamy,  as  soon  as  she  discovered  that 
I  had  converted  her  sister,  called  to  see  me,  in  com- 
pany with  another  lady.  She  was  a  tall,  angular 
woman.  As  she  entered  the  room,  she  asked  me  it 
I  were  Mrs.  Stenhouse.  I  answered  affirmatively; 
and,  before  I  had  time  to  ask  her  to  be  seated,  she 
caught  hold  of  me  by  the  shoulders,  like  a  maniac, 
and  shook  me  violently,  quite  taking  away  my  breath. 
I  was  like  a  child  in  her  hands,  and  could  offer  no  re- 
sistance. I  had  not  been  accustomed  to  such  vio- 
lence as  this.  She  then  began  to  declaim  wildly 
against  me,  and  declared  that  she  hated  me  for  teach- 
ing her  sister  such  an  abominable  religion.  Her 
passion  rising  again,  she  seized  me  a  second  time, 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       4I 

and,  forcing  me  into  a  corner,  stood  nervously  clutch- 
ing her  hands  and  making  for  my  face,  screaming 
violently  that  she  felt  as  if  she  "  could  tear  me  to 
pieces."  All  this  time  her  friend  stood  by,  with 
an  amused  expression  on  her  countenance,  as  if  she 
quite  enjoyed  the  sight.  But  to  me  it  was  no  joke  ; 
and  I  do  not  know  what  the  enraged  woman  would 
have  done  to  me,  had  not  a  gentleman,  who  was  a 
friend  of  Mr.  S.,  happened  to  come  in  at  the  moment, 
and,  hearing  the  uproar,  hastened  to  my  rescue.  The 
reader  may  well  suppose  that  I  shall  not  easily  for- 
get my  experiences  in  introducing  Polygamy  among 
the  Swiss. 

The  first  emigration  from  Switzerland  had  a  sad 
history.  The  emigrants  were  a  good  people,  of  the 
class  bourgeoisie,  who  for  the  Mormon  faith  left  all 
that  was  dear  to  them  in  fatherland,  and,  in  many 
cases,  gave  up  the  homesteads  which  had  been  theirs 
and  their  ancestors'  for  many  generations. 

Once,  when  Mr.  S.  returned  from  visiting  several 
cantons  where  he  had  been  for  the  purpose  of  coun- 
selling the  Saints  to  emigrate,  he  told  me  it  took  all 
the  courage  he  could  muster  to  tell  people  in  such 
comfortable  circumstances  to  sell  all  and  to  gather  to 
the  deserts  of  Utah.  The  thought  was  painful ;  but 
faith  prevailed,  and  those  among  the  simple  people  of 
the  Helvetian  Republic  who  had  embraced  the  Mor- 
mon faith,  set  out,  regarding  little  the  perils  of  the 
ocean  or  the  privations  of  the  prairie,  believing  only 
that  every  weary  step  they  took  led  them  nearer  to 
the  "  Zion"  of  their  hopes. 


42       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

The  story  of  that  emigrant  band  is  very  sad.  Faith 
had  been  the  actuating  principle  which  induced  each 
one  of  the  company  to  leave  all  that  was  dear  on 
earth  and  set  out  for  the  City  of  the  Saints.  But 
privation  and  misery  shook  the  faith  of  some,  and  in 
many  instances  banished  even  the  shadow  of  hope. 

On  their  way  to  "  Zion,"  some  of  the  emigrants 
became  dissatisfied,  and  separated  from  the  general 
company.  They  were  overtaken  between  St.  Louis 
and  the  frontiers  by  the  dreadful  cholera  of  1853, 
and  almost  totally  perished.  When  the  news  reached 
Switzerland,  the  friends  of  those  who  were  thus  lost 
were  very  naturally  enraged  with  the  Mormon  mis- 
sionary who  had  "  led  them  into  all  their  trouble  and 
to  death."  This  demonstration  of  anger  was  some- 
what unreasonable,  for  every  emigrant  must  himself 
have  known  that  his  way  to  Utah  was  not  over  a 
path  strewn  with  roses  ;  and  the  missionaries  who 
advised  the  journey,  being  only  human,  could  not 
possibly  foresee  the  visitation  of  the  cholera,  which 
proved  so  fatal  to  the  pilgrims. 

These  facts,  however,  no  one  seemed  to  take 
into  consideration ;  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that 
Mr.  S.  escaped  from  personal  violence  in  Lausanne. 
Though  his  friends  counselled  his  instant  departure 
from  the  place,  with  his  usual  "  confidence  in  God," 
he  stopped  over  night ;  but  the  morning's  reflections 
suggested  discretion  and  an  early  departure. 

Those  of  the  Swiss  pilgrims  who  escaped  the 
scourge  of  the  cholera  were  only  spared  to  realize  that 
other  scourge — Polygamy. 

Many  a  time,  amidst  the  horrors  of  polygamous 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       43 

"Zion,"  have  faithful  wives,  who  passed  unscathed 
through  that  terrible  plague,  wished  that  it  might 
have  been  their  own  fate  to  have  perished  with  their 
countrywomen  on  the  desert  wilds. 

We  remained  in  Switzerland  about  three  years  and 
a  half  The  mission,  notwithstanding  its  dark  be- 
ginning, had  been  very  successful.  Mormonism  had 
been  introduced  into  seven  cantons ;  a  paper,  in  the 
French  language,  was  published  by  Mr.  S.,  in  the  in- 
terests of  that  faith,  in  Geneva,  as  well  as  books  and 
brochures  in  the  French,  German,  and  Italian  lan- 
guages, almost  entirely  supported  at  the  expense  of 
the  converted  Swiss.  By  the  time  that  we  left,  there 
were  several  missionaries  from  Utah,  and  about  the 
same  number  from  England,  labouring  in  Helvetia. 

Mr.  S.  requested  to  be  released  from  his  presidency 
of  the  Swiss  and  Italian  missions  ;  and,  with  the 
means  which  some  of  the  more  wealthy  of  the  emi- 
grating Swiss  had  generously  furnished,  we  were 
provided  with  what  was  necessary  for  our  journey  to 
Utah. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

We  return  to  England — How  Polygamy  was  taught  there — ^The 
Girls  happy — ^The  Wives  miserable — General  Effects  of  the  Doc- 
trine— A  Runaway  Wife — How  she  acted  in  Haste  and  repented  at 
Leisure — ^A  Mother  leaves  her  Babes — ^A  Lady  is  "counselled "  to 
emigrate  without  her  Husband — Follies  of  certain  Elders — 
Polygamic  "  Poetry!" 

We  returned  to  England  in  November,  1854,  with 
the  intention  of  leaving  for  Utah  in  the  following 
spring.  Until  the  period  of  emigration  arrived,  we 
went  to  reside  in  the  house  of  the  President  of  the 
London  Conference,  and  it  was  at  that  time  that  I 
first  began  seriously  to  doubt  the  truth  of  Mormon- 
ism.  I  gradually  became  convinced,  though  I  could 
scarcely  explain  how,  that  there  was  something  wrongs 
something  that  I  did  not  understand,  underlying  the 
whole  system.  I  began  to  realize  that  there  was 
more  of  frail  humanity  about  it  than  of  the  pure  and 
holy  religion  that  I  had  believed  it  to  be ;  for  the  reader 
must  remember  that,  however  much  I  was  opposed 
to  Polygamy,  it  never  once  entered  my  thoughts  to 
question  that  it  was  a  pure  and  religious  principle. 

I  believed  that  my  opposition  to  Polygamy  in  Swit- 
zerland was  the  result  of  my  own  "  depraved  nature," 
and  not  the  fault  of  my  religion.  But  soon  after  our 
arrival  in  London,  I  began  to  hear  things  about  the 
authorities  of  the  church  in  Utah  that  I  was  con- 
vinced could  not  be  right. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       45 

On  the  continent  we  had  only  seen  and  heard  our- 
selves and  our  own  converts  on  the  new  revelation. 
On  our  arrival  in  England,  I  was  somewhat  anxious 
to  learn  how  others  had  received  it. 

The  young  girls  were  pleased  with  it,  for  it  ex- 
tended their  chances  of  marriage,  and  they  were  the 
recipients  of  many  attentions  from  the  elders.  It 
was  natural  for  them  to  be  gratified  with  the  assu- 
rance that  it  was  their  "  privilege"  to  tell  any  man 
of  their  love,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  marry  them. 
But  during  a  year's  residence  in  London,  I  never 
met  a  happily  married  woman  in  the  Mormon  Church 
who  did  not  abhor  it.  They  were  submissive  to  its 
teachings,  as  it  had  no  immediate  results  there  ;  but 
it  troubled  them  terribly  and  rendered  them  mise- 
rable when  they  thought  of  going  to  Utah. 

Married  women  had,  however,  the  same  favourable 
attentions  and  compliments  paid  them  as  the  young 
girls,  for  the  Gentile  marriage  never  stood  in  the 
way.  It  could  at  any  time  be  broken,  if  the  lady  had 
only  the  inclination  or  nerve  to  do  it.  No  married 
missionary  could  take  another  wife  in  Europe  with- 
out special  permission  from  Brigham  Young;  but  they 
could,  and  did,  teach  married  women  that  in  "  Zion" 
the  "  Gentile  chain  was  broken,"  and  that  the  ladies 
could  choose  for  husbands,  "  whom  they  would  in  the 
Lord,"  when  they  got  there,  hinting,  at  the  same 
time,  that  they,  themselves,  would  be  in  the  market. 
That  teaching  was  not  listened  to  by  some;  but  it  was 
by  others,  and  many  homes  in  England  have  been 
blighted  by  it,  and  broken  up. 

Women  who  were  ill-mated,  or  imagined  that  they 


46       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

were,  saw  an  easy  way  of  settling  their  difficulties 
when  Polygamic  teaching  instructed  them  that  all 
marital  covenants  and  obligations,  before  entering 
into  the  church,  were  unrecognized  by  the  Lord.  All 
that  they  had  to  do  was  to  induce  their  husbands  to 
take  them  to  Utah,  and  if  the  husband  refused  to  go, 
the  wife  could  go  alone.  "  Get  away  pleasantly  and 
quietly  if  you  can  ;  if  you  cannot — get  away  anyhow." 
This  was  frequently  the  counsel  given,  and  not  infre- 
quently acted  upon.  A  pretty  face  or  attractive 
person  never  lacked  facilities  for  getting  away. 

Husbands  who  were  dissatisfied  with  their  wives 
could  leave  them  and  their  families,  also,  and  go  to 
"  Zion"  alone,  if  the  wife  and  family  refused  to  accom- 
pany them.  The  husband  was  the  head  of  the  wife, 
and  should  do  his  own  duty,  whether  his  wife  and 
children  did  theirs  or  not.  If  his  family  did  not 
follow  him,  he  could  take  a  young  wife  or  wives  there, 
and  ''  lay  the  foundation  anew"  for  another  family ; 
and  in  his  experience  he  believed  that  the  promise 
was  singularly  fulfilled,  that  "  he  who  forsaketh  wife 
or  child  for  my  sake  shall  have  a  hundred  fold."  That 
run-a-way  husband  was,  of  course,  entitled  to  a  hun- 
dred young  girls,  if  he  could  only  get  them  and  keep 
them. 

Such  things  were  not  taught  to  ignorant  men  and 
women  only,  but  also  to  people  in  very  much  better 
positions.  I  know  one  gentleman  in  Liverpool  who 
separated  from  his  family  because  of  their  unbelief  in 
Mormonism,  and  made  great  sacrifices  in  order  to  go 
to  Utah.  He  married  an  accomplished  young  lady 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  lived  long  enough  in  Zion  tg 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       47 

wish  that  he  had  never  been  there.  The  last 
marriage  was  happy  enough  ;  but  the  gentleman  and 
lady  outlived  their  faith,  and  concluded  to  separate 
and  leave  the  country.  The  young  lady  returned  to 
London,  the  gentleman  to  Liverpool — a  poorer,  but 
a  wiser  man. 

There  was  also  an  old  couple  with  whom  I  was 
well  acquainted  in  Portsmouth.  They  were  engaged 
in  business,  and  doing  very  well.  The  wife  joined 
the  Mormon  Church,  and  the  husband,  being  a  good- 
natured  old  gentleman,  allowed  her  to  do  just  what 
she  liked,  and  she  was  very  liberal  to  the  mission- 
aries. She  heard  so  much  of  the  glories  of  "  Zion" 
that  she  began  to  tease  her  husband  to  emigrate, 
although  he  did  not  wish  to  do  so.  But  as  he  dis- 
covered that  she  was  growing  dissatisfied  and  un- 
happy about  it,  he  consented  to  let  her  go  alone, 
believing  that  she  would  return  again.  She  went  to 
Utah  provided  with  abundance  of  every  thing  and 
plenty  of  money.  Soon  after  her  arrival  there,  she 
was  married  to  an  old  Mormon  elder,  who  built  a 
house  with  her  money  and  otherwise  made  himself 
very  comfortable.  Then  he  took  a  young  wife,  and 
then  another  ;  and  among  them  they  led  the  old  lady 
such  a  life  that  she  was  glad  to  leave  the  house  and 
labour  for  her  support  as  best  she  could.  She  fre- 
quently heard  from  her  husband  in  England,  who 
had  fretted  until  he  fell  sick.  He  had  to  get  a  nurse 
or  housekeeper,  and  as  he  was  well  to  do,  this  person 
contrived  to  get  him  to  marry  her.  After  a  year  or 
two,  he  died,  leaving  all  his  property  to  her  ;  while 
the  poor  old  lady  was  living  in  Utah  in  pover^rp^wi^ 


48       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

unhappy  and  bitterly  repenting  her  folly  in  leaving 
so  good  a  husband  as  he  had  been  to  her.  While 
the  old  gentleman  was  sick,  I  saw  the  old  lady  in 
deep  distress  of  mind,  as  she  could  not  get  money  to 
take  her  back  to  England.  Had  she  got  there  while 
the  old  gentleman  was  still  alive,  she  would  doubtless 
have  inherited  all  his  property  ;  but  now  she  is  poor 
and  homeless. 

Some  years  later,  while  living  in  New  York,  I  saw 
other  illustrations  of  the  baneful  teachings  in  Eng- 
land. One  of  the  Mormon  elders,  on  his  return  from 
a  mission  to  Europe,  carrfe  to  my  house  accompanied 
by  a  "  sister,"  who,  he  said,  had  just  arrived  with 
other  emigrants  from  England.  He  told  me  that  she 
was  feeling  dull,  and  he  would  like  her  to  be  with 
some  family  of  the  Saints  where  she  would  feel  at 
home  for  about  two  weeks.  At  the  end  of  that  time, 
they  intended  to  go  to  Salt  Lake. 

She  took  one  of  my  little  ones  in  her  arms,  and 
seemed,  for  a  stranger,  to  fondle  it  with  great  affec- 
tion. I  soon  noticed  that  she  was  in  tears,  and  my 
sympathy  was  instantly  enlisted  for  her.  I  saw  she 
had  trouble  on  her  mind,  and  I  tried  to  discover  the 
cause  of  her  sorrow.  She  told  me  that  she  had  left 
two  little  children  at  home,  and  was  pining  to  see 
them.  I  asked  her  why  she  had  left  them,  and  she 
told  me  that  she  had  been  "  counselled  "  to  leave  a 
good  husband,  a  good  home,  and  two  darling  little 
ones,  and  go  to  "  Zion."  She  was  perfectly  wretched. 
She  had  nothing  to  complain  of  in  her  husband's  con- 
duct towards  her,  only  he  did  not  believe  in  Mor- 
monism,  and    would  not   allow   her   to   attend    the 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       49 

meetings  of  the  Saints.  She  had  come  off  stealthily 
with  the  assurance  from  "  the  servants  of  God  "  that 
she  should  have  her  children  soon. 

I  told  her  that  I  did  not  believe  she  would  ever  see 
them  again,  nor  did  I  think  that  she  deserved  to, 
unless  she  returned  to  her  husband  immediately  and 
sought  his  forgiveness.  She  had  been  taught,  she 
said,  that  it  was  necessary  for  her  salvation  that  she 
should  "  gather  with  the  Saints  to  Salt  Lake."  Her 
husband  opposed  her  going,  and  as  she  had  to  leave 
unknown  to  him,  she  could  not  manage  to  get  her 
children  away. 

I  used  every  means  in  my  power  to  get  her  to  re- 
turn, and  tried  to  picture  to  her  that  once  happy 
home  now  made  desolate  through  her  desertion  ;  but 
she  felt  that  her  religion  required  her  to  make  the 
sacrifice,  believing  as  she  had  been  taught,  that  if  she 
"  sought  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteous- 
ness," all  other  things  should  be  added  unto  her. 
She  was,  after  all,  very  much  to  be  pitied  ;  for  she 
was  a  victim  to  the  teachings  of  the  elders,  and  she 
firmly  believed  that  whatever  they  told  her  was  the 
revelation  of  heaven  to  her. 

She  left  me,  and  I  feared  that  she  would  still 
pursue  her  journey  in  despite  of  all  that  I  had  said 
to  her ;  but  in  about  two  months  from  that  time,  I 
was  one  morning  told  that  a  lady  wished  to  see  me. 
I  was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  it  was  the 
runaway  mother.  She  told  me  that  after  our  conver- 
sation she  could  not  go  to  Salt  Lake,  but  had  re- 
mained in  St.  Louis,  had  written  to  her  husband  and 
had  made  every  thing  right  with  him,  and  she  was 


50       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

now  on  her  way  back  again  to  her  home  in  England. 
She  was  very  happy,  and  I  rejoiced  with  her. 

This  circumstance  is  given  to  illustrate  the  power 
of  the  teachings  of  the  elders.  To  all  appearances  it 
could  not  have  been  a  love  affair,  for  there  was  no- 
thing in  the  look  of  the  man  that  could  captivate  any 
woman.  To  be  sure,  there  is  no  accounting  for  taste 
in  matters  of  love,  and  she  might  have  seen  qualities 
in  him  that  every  one  else  had  failed  to  perceive. 

Another  circumstance  somewhat  similar  to  this 
came  directly  under  my  personal  notice.  In  this 
instance  the  lady,  whom  I  knew,  was  married  very 
happily.  Her  husband  held  a  very  lucrative  position, 
but  who  was  at  times. obliged  to  be  absent  from  home 
for  several  months  together,  on  one  occasion  found  it 
necessary  to  leave  his  family  for  nearly  a  year.  He 
went ;  but  not  wishing  to  be  separated  from  his  fami- 
ly for  so  long  a  time,  he  wrote  to  her,  requesting  that 
she  would  come  out  to  him  with  her  children,  send- 
ing her  at  the  same  time  funds  necessary  for  that 
purpose.  The  brethren  heard  of  this,  and  "  coun- 
selled "  her  to  go  to  "  Zion"  instead,  telling  her  that 
if  she  did  not  go  then  she  might  not  have  another 
opportunity  for  a  long  time,  as  the  country  would  be 
involved  in  war.  She  obeyed  the  "  counsel,"  and 
without  replying  to  her  husband,  left  for  Utah,  and 
crossed  the  plains  with  her  four  little  children,  and 
arrived  in  "  Zion"  almost  dead  with  the  trials  and 
difficulties  she  had  had  to  encounter,  not  having  a 
protector,  and  being  so  entirely  ignorant  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  journey.  Her  husband,  who  was  a  very 
excellent  man,  followed  her,  some  time  subsequent- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       5 1 

ly ;  but  of  course  he  felt  that  he  had  been  very  badly 
treated,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  could  be 
reconciled. 

All  the  missionaries,  before  they  leave  Utah,  are  in- 
structed to  make  no  selections  from  the  lambs  of  the 
flock ;  and  though  many  of  them  have  no  doubt  hon- 
oured these  instructions,  many  others  have  seemed  to 
do  little  more  than  preach  on  Sundays,  attend  one  or 
two  meetings  during  the  week,  and  devote  the  rest 
of  their  leisure  to  the  "  sisters" — taking  them  to 
theatres,  public  entertainments,  and  wherever  they 
themselves  were  invited  to  visit. 

If  any  family  invited  a  Utah  elder  to  dine  with 
them  on  any  given  day,  if  he  was  at  all  familiar  with 
them,  he  was  almost  certain  to  bring  "  a  sister"  with 
him.  This  was  frequently  a  great  annoyance  ;  for 
instead  of  imparting  instruction  to  the  family,  or 
entertaining  them  with  information  about  "  Zion," 
his  chair  after  dinner  was  almost  certain  to  travel 
with  that  of  the  lady  visitor  to  the  neighbourhood  ot 
a  window,,  or  to  a  quiet  corner,  where  they  could 
entertain  each  other  with  soft  nonsense. 

The  follies  of  such  missionaries,  (though  they  doubt- 
less preserved  themselves  free  from  immorality,)  their 
silly  talk,  childish  amusements,  nonsense,  flirting,  and 
extravagance  with  girls  as  silly  as  themselves,  was  a 
great  stumbling-block  to  many  a  married  woman  at 
the  introduction  of  the  principles  of  Polygamy  in 
England. 

At  the  time  of  my  sojourn  in  London,  there  was  a 
feeling  of  great  uncertainty  among  the  Saints  about 
every  thing  connected  with  domestic  relations.      Ig- 


52        WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

norant  men  preaching  the  doctrine  of  Polygamy  to  a 
public  audience  might  be  expected  to  talk  a  great 
deal  of  nonsense  upon  such  a  delicate  subject,  and 
that  was  bad  enough  ;  but  when  to  this  was  added 
the  fanatical  feeling  about  the  glory  of  "  Zion,"  and 
the  destruction  of  the  Gentile  world  within  a  few 
years,  it  was  worse  still.  There  was  much  anxiety 
and  excitement  among  the  Saints.  It  was  one  contin- 
ued stream  of  prediction  that  the  world  was  to  be 
devastated  by  wars  that  would  destroy  the  greater 
portion  of  the  men,  and  thus  bring  about  a  fulfilment 
of  the  prophecy  which  says  that  "  Seven  wome'n  shall 
take  hold  of  one  man."  The  women  were  to  become 
so  urgent  in  their  importunities  for  marriage,  that 
they  would  gladly  promise  to  "  eat  their  own  bread 
and  wear  their  own  apparel ;"  and  all  they  would  ask 
would  be  the  privilege  of  being  called  by  some  man's 
name,  to  "  take  away  their  reproach." 

With  such  preaching,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Saints  became  bewildered, 
scarcely  knowing  what  to  do.  One  thing  alone  they 
knew  :  that  they  were  to  "  flee  to  Zion,"  and  get  all 
their  marital  relations  settled  in  the  "  Endowment 
House,"  so  that  every  woman  should  have  a  husband 
who  could  "  save  her,"  and  every  man  have  all  the 
wives  and  children  that  he  could  gather  round  him, 
before  the  "  great  day  of  wrath,  and  the  coming  of 
the  Lord." 

One  of  the  most  popular  axioms  of  the  elders  at 
that  time  was,  "  It  is  better  to  be  the  mate  of  a  ship 
of  war  than  the  captain  of  a  schooner."  This  was 
well  understood  by  the  sisters  to  mean  that  it  was 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       53 

better  to  be  one  of  the  wives  of  a  great  man  in  "  the 
kingdom,"  than  to  be  the  only  wife  of  a  little  man. 
It  was  of  no  consequence  how  kind  a  husband  might 
be  to  his  wife  and  family  ;  if  he  was  not  also  abound- 
ing with  zeal,  and  full  of  talk  in  the  meetings,  he  was 
very  little  esteemed.  Many  a  silly  woman  has  been 
carried  away  by  such  nonsense  till  she  scarcely  knew 
what  she  was  doing  or  wanted  to  do.  She  probably 
loved'  her  husband,  but  mourned  to  think  that  he 
could  not  take  his  stand  among  the  favoured  of  the 
Lord.  In  the  course  of  time,  her  regrets  would  grow 
into  discontent ;  and  when  some  raving,  enthusiastic 
preacher  came  along,  she  was  ready  to  form  the  con- 
clusion that  she  ought  to  hasten  to  Zion ;  and  thus, 
from  one  step  to  the  other,  she  was  soon  on  her  way 
to  Utah,  with  her  children,  if  she  could,  or  without 
them  if  she  could  do  no  better. 

This  was  the  period  when  Polygamy  was  intro- 
duced, and  that  was  the  spirit  of  the  times  when  I 
made  my  visit  to  London,  preparatory  to  going  to 
"  Zion." 

The  following  are  one  or  two  of  about  a  dozen 
verses  of  Mormon  "  poetry,"  once  extremel}  popular 
among  the  "  Saints,"  and  which  certainl}  express 
very  truly  their  sentiments  at  the  time  of  «vhich  I 
speak : 

"  The  time  the  prophet  saw  is  on  the  wing, 
When  seven  women  to  one  man  shall  cling 

*'  Not  for  the  lack  of  clothing  or  of  bread, 
But  for  a  husband — a  man — a  head  ! 
To  obviate  reproach  and  share  his  name. 
As  to  be  single  then  will  be  a  shame ; 


54       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

•'For  war  will  strew  its  victims  o'er  the  plain, 
And  maddened  men  rush  heedless  to  be  slain ; 
A  man  shall  be  more  precious  in  the  land 
Than  golden  wedges  from  the  Ophir  strand. 

**If  you  perchance  among  the  worthies  stand, 
And  seven  women  claim  your  saving  hand, 
Do  not  reject  the  six  and  save  the  one, 
And  boast  of  magnanimity  when  -done." 

Doggerel,  no  better  than  this,  and  much  of  it  a 
great  deal  worse,  might  be  heard  in  almost  every 
meeting  of  the  "  Saints." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Mormon  Life  in  London — "  Counselled  "  to  go  to  Salt  Lake  Valley 
— Sickness  and  Annoyances — Doubts  and  Fears — Faith  wavering 
— Loneliness  in  the  Great  City — "The dear  American  Brethren" — 
Preparations  for  leaving  England. 

Mr.  M.,  the  Mormon  President  in  London,  was 
constantly  in  receipt  of  letters  from  Salt  Lake  during 
the  time  of  our  residence  in  his  house  ;  and  I  ob- 
served that  he  acted  in  a  very  mysterious  manner 
with  them.  He  would  read  them  to  my  husband 
when  he  thought  that  they  were  alone,  and  conceal 
them  when  I  came  into  the  room.  This  made  me 
resolve  to  see  these  letters,  if  possible.  I  mentioned 
this  to  Mrs.  M.,  and  she  volunteered  to  get  them  for 
me.  What  I  discovered  I  have  no  right  to  reveal 
now,  just  as  I  had  then  no  right  (although  through 
the  kindness  of  this  lady  they  had  been  placed  in  my 
hands)  to  pry  into  them.  Suffice  it,  however,  to  say 
that  they  set  me  thinking,  and  the  more  I  thought 
the  worse  I  felt.  I  was  bewildered  and  wretched, 
losing  confidence  in  myself  and  in  every  thing.  In 
fact,  I  had  not  enough  experience  to  rely  upon  my 
own  judgment,  and  my  husband  was  a  slave  to  Mor- 
monism  ;  but  from  what  I  had  read  in  those  letters 
about  the  teachings  in  Utah,  and  from  my  observa- 
tion of  the  conduct  of  the  American  brethren,  I 
began  to  feel  the  greatest  horror  of  going  out  to  Salt 
Lake.     I  knew  it  was  decided  that  we  should  go  in 


56       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

the  spring,  and  the  thought  made  me  very  melan- 
choly. 

At  this  time — Christmas  Day,  1854 — my  fourth 
child  was  born.  When  he  was  three  weeks  old,  my 
second  daughter  was  taken  very  ill.  I  mention  these 
things  for  reasons  which  will  soon  be  apparent  to  the 
reader. 

I  had  now  another — a  real  and  tangible  trouble 
added  to  the  grief  caused  by  my  previous  forebodings 
respecting  the  future,  which  I  have  already  described. 
My  child  was  very  ill  indeed.  Her  life  was  even 
despaired  of,  and  in  my  then  weak  state  I  felt  this 
additional  trial  all  the  more. 

When  the  time  arrived  for  us  to  prepare  for  emi- 
gration, it  seemed  to  me  impossible  for  us  even  to 
think  of  such  a  thing.  The  reader  will  understand 
this  when  I  remind  him  that  we  had  four  little  chil- 
dren— the  youngest  only  a  month  old — and  one  dan- 
gerously ill.  The  Utah  brethren  knew  my  state  of 
mind,  for  I  had  talked  with  them  very  freely  about 
the  matter.  It  was  therefore  suspected  that  I  was 
not  willing  to  emigrate,  and  perhaps  might  even  re- 
fuse to  do  so.  This  was  an  entire  mistake  ;  for  I  had 
not  yet  arrived  at  the  feeling  that  I  could  reject 
Mormonism  altogether  and  throw  off  my  connexion 
with  that  faith.  How  often,  afterwards,  I  wished  it 
had  been  so ! 

Had  I  then  been  as  devoted  a  Mormon  as  I  was  a 
few  months  previously,  I  know  that  I  should  have 
made  a  greater  effort  to  go.  But,  although  I  still 
clung  to  that  religion,  my  faith  was  already  under- 
mined ;  I  was  soulless  and  dispirited. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       57 

One  day  Mr.  M.  came  home  and  said  to  me : — 
"  Mrs.  Stenhouse,  it  has  been  decided  to  *  counsel ' 
your  husband  to  emigrate  without  you  if  you  will  not 
immediately  get  ready.  I  thought  I  would  let  you 
know  this  much,  although  it  is  not  right  for  me  to 
relate  what  takes  place  in  council.  But,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  I  think  it  is  villainous  with  this  sick  child 
on  your  hands  and  a  young  babe,  to  require  you  to 
do  so.  Yet,  what  can  be  done  ?  Their  plan  is  this  : 
Your  husband,  if  he  finds  you  will  not  go,  is  to  get 
ready  and  leave  for  Liverpool ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  is 
gone,  I  shall  be  instructed  to  tell  you  that  I  need  the 
rooms  you  now  occupy,  and  that  you  must  leave 
directly.  You  will  be  puzzled  in  the  midst  of  your 
trouble  to  know  what  to  do.  Then  some  of  the 
brethren  will  be  at  hand  to  send  you  after  your  hus- 
band, and  you  will  be  very  glad  to  go ;  for  you  will 
have  no  choice,  and  will  be  ready  to-do  any  thing  to 
get  out  of  your  troubles." 

Oh!  I  can  not  tell  how  indignant  I  was  when  I 
heard  this.  I  utterly  loathed  and  detested  every  one 
of  them  ;  and  I  walked  about  the  room  so  full  of 
contending  emotions  that  it  was  some  time  before  I 
could  utter  a  word.  At  last  I  was  able  to  speak,  and 
I  said  : — "  Mr.  M ,  would  you  send  me  away  .?" 

"  If  they  '  counsel '  me  to  do  so,"  he  replied,  "  I 
shall  have  to  do  it." 

"  Can  you  not,  or  have  you  not  enough  courage  to 
oppose  a  thing  you  know  to  be  wrong  T  I  enquired. 

"  If  I  did  so,"  said  he,  "  I  should  get  into  trouble." 

He  knew  me  too  well  to  suppose  that  I  should 
repeat  what  he  said  while  it  could  harm  him  ;  nor 


58       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

would  I  now  have  written  so  much  had  he  remained 
a  Mormon. 

"  Now,"  said  I,  "  I  shall  tell  them  that  I  will  not 
go  in  my  present  condition  ;  nor  will  I  !  If  my  hus- 
band wishes  to  take  their  counsel  and  go,  he  may  go 
alone  ;  and  they  shall  see  that  I  will  not  follow  him 
now  or  ever  after."  I  was  greatly  excited  as  I  said 
this. 

When  Mr.  S.  returned  home,  I  told  him  what  had 
been  said ;  but,  as  he  agreed  with  me  in  believing 
that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  go  with  our  sick 
child,  that  settled  it  for  the  present.  The  elders 
visited  me  and  talked  with  me  until  I  was  nearly 
worried  to  death.  They  made  Mr.  M.  give  us  notice 
to  leave  his  apartments  purely  on  that  account ;  and 
I  had  to  move  our  sick  child  in  cold,  damp  weather, 
just  as  she  was  getting  better.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, she  caught  cold  and  had  a  relapse,  and  we 
despaired  of  her  ever  recovering. 

I  was  now  so  worn  out  with  care  and  anxiety  and 
watching  my  sick  child  that  my  health  began  to  fail, 
and  I  grew  weaker  and  weaker.  My  little  one  was, 
however,  now  becoming  better.  She  had  been  sick 
for  more  than  two  months  ;  and  I  myself  alone  had 
carefully  tended  her  during  all  that  period,  at  the 
same  time  having  the  charge  and  nursing  of  my 
young  babe.  All  the  help  I  had  was  the  assistance 
of  a  girl,  a  mere  child,  only  twelve  years  of  age. 

My  husband  having  frequently  to  preach  at  a  dis- 
tance, was  now  a  great  deal  from  home,  and  I  led 
a  lonely  life.  I  was,  in  fact,  buried  alive  in  the  vast 
wilderness  of  London  ;   and  nothing  can  be  more 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       59 

desolate  than  the  feeling  of  loneliness  in  the  midst  of 
a  great  city.  Left  to  my  own  melancholy  thoughts 
about  Polygamy  and  the  reported  teachings  in  Utah, 
my  confidence  in  the  authorities  of  the  church  was 
most  terribly  shaken,  and  I  dreaded  worse  than  death 
going  to  Salt  Lake  City.  This  so  preyed  upon  my 
mind  that  my  health  was  fast  failing,  and  I  was  un- 
able to  walk  across  the  room  or  hold  my  infant  in  ray 
arms. 

My  physician  told  me  that  he  did  not  know  what 
was  the  matter  with  me ;  and  twice,  when  visiting 
me,  he  urged  me  to  confide  in  him,  that  he  might  be 
able  to  benefit  me.  He  said  that  I  had  no  disease, 
yet  I  was  failing  fast.  I  could  not  tell  him  of  the 
sorrow  that  was  eating  my  life  away.  I  never  knew 
what  he  said  to  my  husband  ;  but,  immediately  after 
consultation,  I  was  sent  to  the  West  End  of  London 
with  a  nurse,  hoping  by  this  slight  change  to  recruit 
my  health,  and  a  kind  friend  took  charge  of  my  chil- 
dren. I  did  not  care  much  what  was  done  with  me, 
for  I  fully  believed  that  I  was  going  to  die. 

I  had  not  been  away  more  than  a  week  when  Mr. 
S.  came  to  tell  me  that  he  had  been  notified  that  a 
ship  would  sail  from  Liverpool  in  the  course  of  two 
weeks  from  that  time,  and  that  it  was  expected  that 
we  should  sail  in  her. 

I  did  not  feel  that  this  was  possible  ;  but  the  fact 
of  Mr.  S.  speaking  to  me  about  it,  showed  me  that  he 
particularly  wished  to  go,  and  I  resolved  to  make  the 
attempt.  We  ordered  a  carriage  and  I  went  to  my 
apartment,  leaving  my  babe  with  the  nurse.  Mr.  S., 
after  taking  me  to  the  house,  left  me,  and  I  began  to 


6o       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

pack  a  trunk.  Before  I  had  been  busy  ten  minutes, 
I  fainted  ;  but  how  long  I  remained  in  that  condition 
I  cannot  tell.  When  Mr.  S.  returned  and  found  that 
I  was  so  very  ill,  he  telegraphed  to  Liverpool  to  say 
that  I  was  not  well  enough  to  make  the  journey.  A 
telegram  was  returned  : — "  Bring  her  along,  and  she 
will  get  better."  But  Mr.  S.  had  a  little  independence 
left,  and  we  did  not  go. 

The  summer  passed  very  drearily,  as  Mr.  S.  was 
away  from  home  nearly  all  the  time,  lecturing  in  dif- 
ferent places.  My  children  were  too  young  to  be 
companions,  and  the  Mormons  rather  shunned  me, 
because  of  my  weakness  in  the  faith.  The  young 
sisters  did  not  like  to  hear  me  talk  about  those  "  dear 
American  Brethren,"  and  therefore  they  stayed 
away.  I  had,  however,  a  few  particular  friends,  and 
I  felt  that  that  was  sufficient.  And  yet  it  was  my 
husband's  society  that  I  yearned  for,  and  this  fearful 
Mormonism  always  deprived  me  of  that.  I  could 
not,  therefore,  feel  happy;  for  when  he  was  away 
from  me,  I  was  always  imagining  some  dreadful  thing, 
which  afterwards  proved  to  have  had  no  foundation 
in  truth.  I  was  doubtful  of  every  thing  now.  This 
was  the  beautiful  result  of  my  religion  ! 

I  fear  that  by  this  time  the  reader  may  begin  to 
think  that  I  must  be  of  a  very  unhappy  temperament. 
But  this  is  not  exactly  the  truth.  Until  the  time 
when  the  horrors  of  apprehension  respecting  the 
doctrine  of  Polygamy  began  to  weigh  upon  my  mind, 
I  had  always  been  looked  upon  as  a  cheerful,  light- 
hearted,  and  hopeful  girl.  But  there  was  a  canker- 
worm  gnawing  continually  at  my  heart  now.     Hope 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       6 1 

had  died  out.  I  felt  that  I  was  doomed  for  time  and 
for  eternity,  and  sometimes  it  seemed  to  me  impos- 
sible that  I  should  pray  to  a  God  who  could  make 
such  unjust  laws.  How  could  I  teach  my  little  ones 
to  love  Him } 

How  different  to  me  were  these  ideas  of  God  and 
of  His  truth,  from  the  feelings  and  sentiments  which 
were  mine  when  a  girl !  Then  I  could  look  around 
upon  the  beauties  of  nature  and  see  the  hand  of  God 
in  every  thing,  while  my  soul  would  be  filled  with 
joy  and  gladness ;  my  only  anxiety  being  to  know 
what  I  should  do  to  become  acceptable  in  His  sight. 
But  now  I  saw  no  beauty  in  any  thing.  Nothing 
had  power  to  divert  me  from  my  sad  thoughts. 

Mormonism  to  me  at  that  time  was  a  melancholy 
fact. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

We  emigrate  to  Aiiierica — New  York — The  Mormon — An  **  Apos- 
tle," two  "  High-Priests,"  and  a  "  Seventy,"  and  what  they  did — 
Polygamy  in  New  York — Disarrangement  of  Plans — We  set  out  for 
"  Zion" — The  Utah  Elders  choose  other  Wives — ^Three  Months  on 
the  Plains— First  Glimpse  of  "  The  City  of  Saints." 

About  the  middle  of  November,  1855,  we  sailed 
from  Liverpool,  with  several  hundred  Mormons,  for 
New  York,  where  we  landed  on  the  last  day  of  the 
year. 

Before  we  left  England,  Mr.  Stenhouse  concluded 
that  ten  years'  constant  missionary  service,  without 
fee  or  reward,  and  living  in  the  dependent  condition 
that  I  have  related,  was  all  that  the  church  had  any 
right  to.  expect  of  him,  especially  as  his  family  was 
growing  up,  and  would  soon  demand  more  than  daily 
bread.  It  was  his  purpose  to  seek  in  the  New  World 
any  occupation  for  which  he  might  be  fitted. 

He  regretted  that  the  vessel  we  were  to  sail  in  was 
to  land  us  at  New  York ;  but  in  emigration,  as  in 
every  thing  else  in  Mormonism,  the  priesthood  dic- 
tate ;  and  to  have  sailed  in  any  other  vessel  would 
have  been  evidence  of  want  of  faith  and  a  good  spirit. 
He  would  have  preferred  alrnost  any  other  seaport,  as 
he  wished  to  avoid  the  Mormon  newspaper  office  ;  for 
he  had  an  idea  that  he  might  possibly  be  called  to 
associate  himself  with  it  in  some  way,  and  that  again 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       63 

would  be  a  renewal  of  missionary  life.  The  very 
thing  he  dreaded  came  upon  him. 

Our  residence  in  New  York,  while  Mr.  S.  was  as- 
sociate editor  of  the  Monnon,  was  characterized  by 
extreme  poverty.  But,  with  all  the  luxuries  in  the 
world  around  me,  my  spectre — Polygamy — would 
have  spoiled  them  all. 

There  were  four  brethren  from  Utah  at  that  time 
in  New  York — an  "  Apostle,"  two  "  High-Priests," 
and  a  "  Seventy."  The  last  was  much  like  myself  in 
faith  ;  and,  on  his-  return  to  Utah,  he  settled  up  his 
affairs,  and,  with  his  family,  left  the  country.  The 
High-Priests  picked  up  each  a  young  lady,  to  whom 
they  were  married  after  they  returned  to  the  moun- 
tains ;  but  the  Apostle  was  favoured  with  a  special 
dispensation  from  Brigham  Young,  and  took  his  sixth 
wife — a  very  amiable  young  lady,  then  living. in  Con- 
necticut. They  occupied  a  pleasant  house  in  East- 
Brooklyn,  and  had  all  the  comforts  and  endearments 
of  home  while  on  mission. 

The  "Apostle"  was  well  used  to  the  polygamic 
business,  and  suffered  no  inconvenience  on  returning 
home  with  his  youngest  bride  ;  but  the  High-Priests 
realized  the  truth  of  the  adage,  that  the  course  of 
true  love  does  not  always  run  smooth.  The  first 
wife  of  one  of  them  kept  him  at  a  respectful  distance 
from  her  "  bed  and  board,"  and  the  first  wife  of  the 
other  kept  her  younger  rival  at  an  equally  respectful 
distance  from  herself  The  first  "  High-Priest"  has 
"  gone  to  heaven,"  and  the  second  High-Priest  had, 
in  course  of  time,  to  give  a  bill  of  divorce  to  his 
young  wife.     They  were  all  three  good  girls,  and  ac- 


64  WHAT   I   KNOW  ABOUT   POLYGAMVT. 

cepted  their  copartnership  in  matrimony  as  purely 
for  the  sake  of  their  faith  as  ever  women  could  do. 
What  happiness  they  have  had  in  it  they  best  know  ; 
but  the  young  widow  seems  the  most  contented  of 
the  three. 

The  difficulty  in  Utah  in  1857  brought  the  Mor- 
mon to  a  close,  and,  with  its  expiration,  my  poverty 
vanished.  Mr.  S.  was  now  at  liberty  to  do  as  he 
pleased,  and  his  pen  found  ready  remuneration  on 
the  staff  of  the  New- York  Herald. 

The  settlement  of  the  "Utah  Difficulty"  in  1858 
threatened  another  change  in  our  life.  Mr.  S.  was 
appointed  by  Brigham  Young  to  preside  over  the 
Saints  in  the  Eastern  States  ;  but  he  had  got  a 
taste  of  freedom,  and  he  never  afterwards  was  wholly 
engaged  in  the  propagation  of  Mormonism. 

In  the  following  year.  Elder  George  Q.  Cannon, 
now  the  prominent  Apostle  in  Utah,  was  appointed 
to  succeed  Mr.  Stenhouse  ;  and,  at  the  end  of  the 
emigration  season  of  that  year,  we  were  permitted  to 
go  to  "  Zion." 

Our  journey  across  the  plains  occupied  three 
months,  and  we  experienced  the  same  vicissitudes  of 
travel  as  other  emigrants  who  have  already  told  their 
tale. 

It  was  the  month  of  September — the  commence- 
ment of  our  beautiful  Indian  summer — when  we 
emerged  from  the  canon  and  caught  sight  of  Salt 
Lake  City.  Every  thing  looked  green  and  lovely  ; 
and,  in  spite  of  all  the  sad  forebodings  whicli  troubled 
me  in  crossing  the  plains,  I  involuntarily  exclaimed, 
"  Ah  !  what  a  glorious  spot !"  It  looked  like  a  beautiful 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMV^.       65 

garden — ^another  Eden — in  the  midst  of  a  desert  val- 
ley. We  had  a  glimpse  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  far 
away  in  the  distance,  stretching  out  like  a  placid 
sheet  of  molten  silver,  while  everywhere  were  the 
lofty  and  lonely-looking  snow-capped  mountains, 
which  entirely  encircled  us,  like  mighty  prison  walls. 

It  would  be  impossible  for  me  to  describe  my  feel- 
ings at  that  time.  Even  while  I  was  enchanted  with 
the  glorious  prospect  before  me,  there  arose  again  in 
my  mind  tliat  haunting  spectre  of  my  existence — 
Polygamy !  I  remembered  that  this  little  earthly 
paradise  would  probably  be  to  me  a  prison-house  ; 
and  with  a  mother's  instinct,  I  dreaded  what  my 
daughters  might  be  destined  to  suffer  there.  Lovely 
as  the  scene  was,  there  was  yet  a  fatal  shadow  over- 
hanging it  all. 

If  the  sad  forebodings  of  my  heart  were  realized,  I 
could  see  no  prospect  of  ever  getting  away.  As  to 
having  a  railroad  across  those  plains — that  seemed  to 
me  utterly  impossible.  Even  if  I  had  ever  thought 
for  a  moment  that  such  a  work  could  be  carried  out, 
I  never  should  have  believed  that  it  could  be  accom- 
plished in  my  own  lifetime.  No !  there  was  no  help 
for  me— even  if  it  came  to  the  worst. 

I  felt  that  my  doom  was  sealed  ;  and  many  another 
woman  in  the  company  was  troubled  at  heart  with 
thoughts  as  sad  as  mine. 

What  living  contradictions  we  were  ! — singing  the 
songs  of  Zion  night  and  morning  in  a  circle,  and  lis- 
tening to  prayers  of  thankfulness  for  being  permitted 
to  gather  out  of  Babylon  ;  and  during  the  day,  as  we 
trudged  along  over  the  plains,  in  twos  and  threes,  we 


66  WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

were  expressing  to  each  other  the  bitterness  of  our 
thoughts.  How  little,  sometimes,  do  the  songs  of 
gladness  reflect  the  sentiments  of  the  heart !  Have 
I  riot  heard  many  a  woman  sing,  to  the  tune  of  the 
"  Bonnie  Breast-knots,"  the  sweet  though  untruthful 
song,  "  Hey,  the  merry  Mormons  !" 

*'  I  never  knew  what  joy  was 
Till  I  became  a  Mormon  !" 

My  edition  of  the  song  was  slightly  changed.  I  sub- 
stituted sorrow  for  "joy,"  and  then  the  words  seemed 
more  applicable  to  my  own  case. 

We  were  kindly  received  in  Salt  Lake  City.  Hav- 
ing been  missionaries  for  so  many  years,  we  were 
known  by  name ;  and  we  also  had  a  wide  circle 
of  personal  acquaintances  among  the  chief  Elders 
and  emigrants.  It  was  now  that  that  fearful  Polyga- 
my, which  I  so  much  dreaded,  was  to  be  brought  be- 
fore my  eyes  in -practice. 

Almost  all  the  elders  with  whom  I  had  formerly 
become  acquainted  had  more  than  one  wife.  Some 
of  these  brethren  called  on  me,  and  kindly  insisted 
that  I  should  visit  their  families,  which  I,  in  many 
instances,  refused,  for  fear  that  what  I  might  see 
would  make  me  feel  worse,  and  that  was  not  at  all 
necessary. 

Shortly  after  our  arrival,  we  visited  President 
Young,  who  received  us  very  graciously,  and  ap- 
pointed an  early  day  after  that  for  us  to  dine  with 
him.  On  that  occasion,  he  invited  some  of  the  apos- 
tles and  leading  elders,  with  their  families,  to  meet 
us  at  his  table  ;  and  we  passed  an  exceedingly  plea- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       6/ 

sant  afternoon  and  evening,  Brigham  making  himself 
very  affable.  His  wives,  I  found,  were  all,  as  far  as 
I  could  judge,  amiable  and  kind-hearted  ladies,  mak- 
ing every  effort  to  render  our  visit  agreeable.  I  was 
much  pleased  with  the  manner  and  appearance  of 
Brigham  Young,  and  felt  greatly  reassured  ;  and  I 
began  to  hope  that  there  was  no  truth  in  the  reports 
which  I  had  heard  of  him  while  in  London.  I  was 
thankful  to  feel  this,  for  it  gave  me  encouragement 
to  think  that,  after  all,  things  might  not  be  so  bad  as 
I  had  anticipated.  Brigham  to-day  does  not  seem 
the  same  man  !  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  he  were 
to  deign  to  read  this  little  work,  he  would  say,  "  It  is 
Sister  Stenhouse  who  has  changed,  not  me."  I  would 
give  much  to  believe  that  some  of  the  facts  of  Utah 
history  were  but  an  idle  dream  ! 

During  that  visit,  Brigham  hinted  to  Mr.  S.  some- 
thing about  another  mission  ;  and  when  we  got  home, 
Mr.  S.  asked  me  how  I  should  feel  if  he  were  sent 
away  again.  After  all  that  we  had  gone  through  for 
Mormonism,  I  thought  that  this  would  be  exacting 
too  much  ;  but  Mr.  S.  was  ready,  and  really  began  to 
plan  how  he  could  secure  bread  for  us  during  his  ab- 
sence— the  butter  I  should  have  had  to  provide  my- 
self, or  go  without ;  but  he  soon  became  very  useful 
with  his  pen,  and,  therefore,  was  not  sent  away. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Life  in  Utah — Polygamy  in  Practice — ^The  first  Wife  to  be  "Destroy- 
ed," unless  she  "consents" — Deceptive  Teaching  about  taking  a 
second  Wife — ^The  Mormon  Plan — "  Labouring"  with  refractory 
Wives — Elderly  Ladies  assisting  in  Courtship — A  first  Wife's  Trials 
— Anomalies  of  Polygamic  Life. 

I  WAS  now  in  the  chief  city  of"  Zion" — the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  Prophet  and  the  principal  Saints,  which 
every  good  Mormon  longed  so  earnestly  to  see.  I 
had  suffered  very  much,  as  I  anticipated  the  time 
when  we  should  arrive  in  Utah,  and  my  fears  of  the 
future  had  long  banished  all  peace  from  my  mind. 
Now  I  had  an  opportunity  of  learning  whether  the 
evils  which  I  dreaded  really  existed,  or  whether  I 
had  too  credulously  listened  to  scandalous  reports, 
and  the  promptings  of  my  own  womanly  apprehen- 
sions. 

I  had  the  daily  and  hourly  cares  of  a  young  and 
dependent  family  devolving  upon  me,  and,  of  course, 
had  not  much  leisure  for  any  thing  else.  At  the 
same  time  I  had  abundant  opportunities  of  observa- 
tion, and  thus  my  experience  of  Mormonism  and 
Polygamy  in  Utah  is  much  the  same  as  that  which 
any  woman  of  ordinary  sense  could  tell,  if  she  had 
the  inclination  and  opportunity. 

When  Polygamy  was  first  taught  in  Europe  and  in 
the  United  States,  great  stress  was  laid  upon  the 
assertion  that  in  no  case  would  any  man  be  allowed 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       69 

to  take  a  second  or  third  wife  without  (as  they 
wished  it  to  be  supposed)  the  entire  consent  and 
approval  of  the  first.  This  statement,  though  false 
and  deceptive,  naturally  silenced  the  fears  of  many 
women  who  would  otherwise  have  opposed  the  doc- 
trine;  for  they  were  deceived  into  thinking  that,  as 
their  husbands  could  not  take  another  wife  without 
first  consulting  them  and  obtaining  their  permission  to 
do  so,  it  would  always  be  in  their  power  to  refuse  ; 
and  thus  they  supposed  they  would  not  themselves 
be  practically  affected  by  Polygamy  until  their  own 
faith  prompted  them  to  consent.  I  need  not  say 
how  greatly  they  were  deceived.  The  elders  have 
been  often  accused  of  deception  in  thus  explaining 
away  the  doctrine  to  the  women.  But  It  seems  to 
me  that,  although  they  were  not  right  in  doing  so,  it 
is  very  probable  that  they  were  influenced  by  good 
and  kind  motives.  The  fact  is,  many  of  the  elders 
were  much  better  men  than  their  religion  taught 
them  to  be  ;  and  when  the  "  revelations"  which  they 
had  to  teach  were  harsh  or  unjust,  they  would  try  to 
adapt  them  to  the  weakness  of  their  hearers,  and  put 
them  in  as  pleasant  a  way  as  possible.  Such  was  the 
case  when  the  revelation  on  Polygamy  was  introduced. 
The  theory  of  plural  marriages  in  Utah  is  this  : 
When  a  Mormon  husband  desires  to  take  another 
wife,  the  prescribed  formula  requires  (i)  that  the 
Lord  give  a  revelation  to  Brigham  Young  that  He 
approves  of  the  proposed  extension  of  the  man's 
family  ;  next,  (2)  that  the  would-be  patriarch  obtain 
the  "  consent"  of  the  first  wife  to  take  another  ;  then 
(3)  he  is  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  parents  or  guax» 


70       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

dians  of  the  selected  damsel,  so  that  he  can  address 
her  in  loving  terms  respecting  his  devotion  to  God, 
His  kingdom,  and  herself  personally  ;  and  (4)  he 
must  secure  the  acquiescence  of  the  damsel.  Should 
"  the  Lord  "  *  veto  the  proposition,  the  suit  is  ended. 
Should  "  the  Lord  "  approve  and  the  wife  disapprove, 
no  further  advance  can  be  made.  Should  the  parents 
withhold  consent,  "  the  Lord  "  and  the  wife  are  held 
in  check.  Finally,  if  they  are  all  agreed  and  the 
maiden  objects,  then  the  approval  of  all  the  other 
consenting  parties  is  set  aside.     That  is  the  theory. 

But  there  is  no  truth  in  all  these  statements — not 
a  particle.  Without  the  consent  and  approval  of 
Brigham  Young,  no  patriarchal  marriage  can  be  con- 
summated ;  with  his  approval,  that  of  the  wife,  the 
parents,  and  the  girl  herself  can  all  be  dispensed 
with. 

Cases  are  not  few  to  sustain  these  assertions. 
Many  a  maiden  has  been  married  without  the  con- 
sent of  her  parents  ;  and  others  have  "  obeyed  coun- 
sel," when  they  had  no  heart  in  the  matter — then  or 
ever  after. 

The  "  Revelation  on  Polygamy"  was  written  by  the 
scribe  of  Joseph  Smith,  from  the  prophet's  dictation, 
after  he  had  already  taken  other  "  wives."  It  is 
worded  so  as  to  have  at  one  moment  the  appearance 


*  On  one  occasion,  when  a  Mormon  gentleman  from  Liverpool  was 
expressing  to  one  of  the  Apostles  his  dissatisfaction  about  something, 
he  remarked,  **  Surely  the  Lord  would  not  sanction  this  !"  Where- 
upon the  Apostle,  touching  him  on  the  arm,  pointed  to  the  White 
House,  where  Brigham  Young  resided,  and  emphatically  remarked, 
"Your  *Z<?r^' resides  up  there  !" 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       7 1 

of  a  fair  and  proper  understanding  between  the  hus- 
band and  wife  whenever  the  former  entertained  the 
idea  of  taking  to  himself  another  bride  ;  and  yet, 
when  viewed  in  another  light,  it  has  quite  an  oppo- 
site sense,  and  tries  to  terrify  the  first  wife,  if  disobe- 
dient, with  threats  of  the  wrath  of  God. 

When  a  woman's  "  consent "  is  asked,  she  knows 
very  well  that  she  will  have  to  give  it — if  she  is  not 
prepared  to  live  in  open  warfare  with  her  husband. 
She  knows,  too,  that  he  will  take  that  other  wife  in- 
dependently of  her,  and  she  is  powerless  to  prevent 
it.  She  may  as  well  consent.  But  some  brave  wo- 
men have  never  given  their  consent,  and  have  never 
allowed  the  second  wife  to  enter  their  homes.  Some 
refined  ladies,  with  excellent  families,  have  had  the 
happiest  of  homes  destroyed  by  withholding  their 
consent ;  and  where  peace  and  warm  affection  were 
proverbial,  the  bitterest  strife  ensued. 

The  men  who  have  acted  in  this  way  are  not  the 
gross  and  ignorant  brethren,  but  more  often  the  par- 
ticularly "  pious"  men,  who  make  long  prayers  in  their 
families,  who  preach  in  the  ward  meetings,  and  in 
the  Tabernacle ;  men  of  smooth  words,  with  the 
name  of  the  Lord  always  upon  their  lips.  These  are 
the  men  who  have  mercilessly  wrung  the  hearts  of 
the  wives  of  Utah.  What  to  such  men  are  a  wife's 
tears  and  sorrows  ?     Nothing. 

If  the  wife  shows  "  temper,"  it  makes  it  only  worse. 
He  wants  peace,  so  he  says  ;  and  if  he  can  not  find  it 
there,  it  furnishes  him  with  the  better  excuse  for  go- 
ing back  again  to  his  younger  wife — just  where  he 
wants  to  go ! 


72        WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

Aiding  and  abetting  these  brethren,  and  encour- 
aging them  in  multiplying  their  wives,  there  is  a 
class  of  good-meaning  sisters  who  are  always  dab- 
bling in  other  people's  affairs,  and  making  love- 
matches.  These  go  round  from  one  unhappy  victim 
to  another,  and  talk  to  the  poor,  broken-hearted  wo- 
men, to  soothe  and  comfort  them  ;  and  before  they 
go  away  they  give  them  the  very  pleasing  assurance 
that  woman  was  cursed  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and 
that 

"  We've  all  got  the  cross  for  to  bear."  * 

They  are  "  laboured  with"  in  the  interest  of  the 
husband  till  they  are,  in  most  cases,  entirely  subdued. 

If  a  woman  gets  "  broken  in,"  or  "  tamed,"  the  hus- 
band rejoices,  and  the  "  sisters"  "join  in  prayer,"  re- 
lating in  the  subjugated  woman's  ears  all  the  blessings 
of  "  obedience,"  and  the  great  glory  that  awaiteth  all 
who  live  in  the  holy  order  of  "  celestial  marriage." 
When  their  work  is  complete,  it  is  fortunate  for  all 
parties  ;  but  a  dose  of  that  kind  generally  only  lasts 


*  The  following  is  from  the  New-York  World,  November  14th, 
1871:— 

Reporter — What  is  really  the  position  of  the  women  on  the  ques- 
tion of  Polygamy  ? 

Mr.  Ferris — They  are  generally  subject  to  what  may  be  called  a 
forced  lead,  by  the  older  women — those  who  are  childless,  and  the 
others  who  seem  to  be  entirely  without  maternal  instincts.  These 
go  about  among  the  mass  of  better  women,  talk  to  them,  impress 
upon  them  the  practice  as  a  religious  duty,  even  necessary  to  their 
salvation  ;  get  them  to  sign  papers  in  its  favour,  and,  if  they  hesi- 
tate, threaten  to  expose  them  as  having  become  dangerously  weak  in 
the  faith.  That  is  the  way  an  appearance  of  unanimity  in  favour  of 
Polygamy  is  maintained. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       73 

till  the  first  wife  gets  a  glimpse  again  of  the  second 
wife,  or  hears  about  her  and  her  husband  going  to- 
gether to  the  theatre  or  to  the  dance.  Then  "  the 
devil,"  who  was  only  scotched,  is  "  raised  "  again  ;  and 
before  he  can  be  finally  "  laid,"  the  whole  affair  has 
to  be  repeated  from  the  beginning,  and  in  many  cases 
the  experiment  has  to  be  tried  again  and  again  before 
the  desired  results  are  produced,  and  not  infrequently 
this  labour  of  love  is  a  total  failure,  when  a  bitterness 
ensues  which  is  unknown  outside  of  polygamic  house- 
holds. 

When  kindness  fails  to  "  soften  down"  the  rebel- 
lious wife,  then  wrath  is  poured  into  her  ears,  and 
she  learns  from  the  revelation  that  "  If  any  man  have 
a  wife  who  hold  the  keys  of  this  power,  and  he  teach- 
es her  the  law  of  my  priesthood,  as  pertaining  to 
these  things,  then  she  shall  believe,  and  administer 
unto  him,  or  she  shall  be  destroyed,  saith  the  Lord 
your  God,  for  /  will  destroy  her'.' 

This  is  a  beautiful  position  for  any  loving  wife  to 
be  placed  in !  Her  husband  is  to  teach  her  Polyga- 
my, and  she  must  believe  ;  for  it  is  distinctly  said, 
"She  shall  believe."  But  should  she  lack  evidence 
of  the  truth  of  the  revelation,  and  can  not  believe  in 
its  divinity,  then  "  She  shall  be  destroyed i"  and  the 
Lord,  like  a  kind  and  loving  father,  adds,  "  /  will  de- 
stroy her."  What  language  to  place  in  the  mouth  of 
a  kind  and  loving  God  and  Father  !  How  opposite 
is  this  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ !  But  it  is  in 
keeping  with  the  other  teachings  of  the  Mormon 
Church.  Mormonism  taught  me  to  look  upon  the 
great  Ruler  of  the  Universe  as  a  "  God  of  vengeance," 


74       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

while  every  thing  in  nature  has  taught  me  that  He  is 
a  "  God  of  love." 

So  repugnant  has  this  teaching  of  the  Lord's  ven- 
geance been  to  the  women  in  Utah,  who  oppose 
Polygamy,  that  many  of  them  have  the  utmost  dis- 
gust for  religion,  and  care  as  little  about  "  the  Lord  " 
as  they  do  about  their  husbands. 

How  little  do  the  Mormon  men  of  Utah  know 
what  it  is,  in  the  truest  sense,  to  have  a  wife,  though 
they  have  so  many  "  wives,"  after  their  own  fashion. 
Almost  imperceptibly  to  the  husband,  and  even  to 
the  wife  herself,  a  barrier  rises  between  them  from 
the  very  day  that  he  marries  another  woman.  It 
matters  not  how  much  she  believes  in  the  doctrine  of 
plural  marriages,  or  how  willing  she  may  be  to  sub- 
mit to  it ;  the  fact  remains  the  same.  The  estrange- 
ment begins  by  her  trying  to  hide  from  him  all  her 
secret  sorrow ;  for  she  feels  that  what  has  been  done 
can  not  be  undone  now,  and  she  says,  "  I  can  not 
change  it ;  neither  would  I  if  I  could,  because  it  is  the 
will  of  God,  and  I  must  bear  it ;  besides,  what  good 
will  it  do  to  worry  my  husband  with  all  my  feelings  } 
He  can  not  help  me,  and  is  he  not  another  woman's 
husband  .^" 

Then  comes  the  painful  feeling,  "  I  have  no  longer 
any  desire  to  confide  in  him." 

Perhaps,  too,  she  may  detect  some  familiarity  be- 
tween her  husband  and  the  other  wife.  Then  she 
would  feel  full  of  anger  and  bitterness  toward  them 
both,  and,  strive  as  she  may,  human  nature  would 
prevail. 

His  presence  becomes  irksome  to  her;  even  his 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       y$ 

touch  would  make  her  shudder.  And  yet  she  might 
hide  all  this  ;  but  with  what  anguish  of  soul !  She 
might  keep  up  a  calm  exterior,  and  when  spoken  to 
about  plural  marriages,  might  lead  persons  to  believe 
that  all  was  pleasant ;  and  even  her  own  husband 
might  think  that  his  wife  had  become  "  used  to  it.'* 
Don't  you  believe  it,  men  of  Utah !  Your  wives 
never  get  "used  to  it"  until  they  have,  in  a  great 
measure,  or  perhaps  entirely,  lost  their  love  for  you. 

When  this  little  book  falls  into  the  hands  of  some 
of  the  women  of  Utah,  they  will,  I  know,  acknowledge 
in  their  hearts,  if  not  in  words,  how  true  my  state- 
ments are.  A  man  may  have  a  dozen  wives  ;  but 
from  the  whole  of  them  combined  he  will  not  receive 
as  much  real  love  and  devotion  as  he  might  from  one 
alone,  if  he  had  made  her  feel  that  she  had  his  undi- 
vided affection  and  confidence.  How  terribly  these 
men  deceive  themselves !  When  peace,  or  rather 
quiet,  reigns  in  their  homes,  they  think  that  the 
spirit  of  God  is  there.  But  it  is  not  so  !  It  is  a  calm, 
not  like  the  gentle  silence  of  sleep,  but  as  the  horri- 
ble stillness  of  death — the  death  of  the  heart's  best 
affections,  and  all  that  is  worth  calling  love.  All  true 
love  has  fled,  and  indifference  has  taken  its  place. 
The  very  children  feel  it.  What  do  they — what  can 
they  care  about  their  fathers  }  They  seldom  see 
them.  I  am  writing  now  of  polygamists  in  general. 
Of  course  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule. 

When  a  man  has  more  than  one  wife,  his  affections 
must  certainly  be  divided  ;  and  he  really  has  no 
particular  home,  for  his  homes  are  simply  boarding- 
houses.      Should  he  have  all  his  wives  in  one  house, 


^6  WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

as  is  often  the  case,  then  they  are  all  slaves  ;  for  they 
know  that  each  one  is  watching  the  others,  and  in 
many  instances  trying  to  discover  something  that 
they  can  secretly  tell  their  husband,  to  draw  away 
his  affections  from  the  rest,  and  secure  them  to  them- 
selves. 

There  are  again  other  women,  frequently  the  first 
and  second  wives,  who  become  friendly  to  each  other. 
When  this  is  the  case,  they  care  very  little  for  the  hus- 
band. They  set  their  faces  against  the  third,  and  the 
others  who  come  after.  The  poor  girl  is  to  be  pitied, 
and  the  husband,  too,  who  ventures  to  bring  her  home  ; 
for  the  two  friendly  wives  are  sure  to  lead  her  and 
him  a  terrible  Hfe.  The  man  who  enters  this  most 
delightful  order  of  marriage  ought  not  to  allow  his 
wives  to  become  too  intimate,  for  they  will  certainly 
plot  mischief,  and  destroy  his  power  and  peace.  The 
more  they  hate  each  other,  the  more  secure  he  is. 

But  what  a  state  of  mind  is  this  for  mothers  to  be 
in !  And  if  children  partake  of  the  nature  and  feel- 
ings of  their  mothers,  what  kind  of  dispositions  can 
these  poor  children  inherit,  whose  mothers  have  been 
the  victims  of  these  strong  and  fearful  emotions  ? 
Oh  !  it  is  a  cruel  wrong  to  womankind  ;  it  is  a  terri- 
ble wrong  to  innocent  children  !  It  is  a  most  wicked 
wrong,  in  every  sense  of  the  word  ! 


CHAPTER  X. 

Shocking  Effects  of  Polygamy — Marrying  a  Half-Sister — A  Mother  and 
Daughter  married  to  one  Man — Marrying  three  Sisters  in  one  Day — 
**  Covenants  of  Marriage" — A  deluded  "Sister" — Her  Persecutor 
— Influence  of  Elders — Mistaken  Ideas  of  Duty — Another  **  Sister" 
betrayed — Men  unhappy  in  Polygamy. 

The  practice  of  Polygamy  in  some  mstances  results 
in  alliances  which  among  all  civilized  peoples  would 
be  considered  equally  unnatural,  immoral,  and  op- 
posed to  the  dictates  of  religion. 

It  is  quite  a  common  thing  in  Utah  for  a  man  to 
marry  two,  and  even  three  sisters.  I  was  very  well 
acquainted  with  one  man  who  married  his  half-sister  ; 
and  I  know  of  several  who  have  married  mother  and 
daughter.  I  know  also  another  man  who  married  a 
widow  with  several  children  ;  and  when  one  of  the 
girls  had  grown  into  her  teens,  he  insisted  on  marry- 
ing her,  having  first  by  some  means  won  her  affec- 
tions. The  lady,  however,  was,  I  am  pleased  to  say, 
very  much  opposed  to  this  marriage,  and  finally  gave 
up  her  husband  entirely  to  her  daughter  ;  but  to  this 
very  day  this  daughter  bears  children  to  her  step- 
father, living  in  the  same  house  with  her  mother ! 
These  things  are  so  revolting  to  me  that  I  have 
scarcely  patience  to  write  about  them. 

I  will,  however,  mention  another  instance  which 
isp  nearly  as  bad.     A  rather  prominent  man  in  Salt 


yS  WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

Lake  City,  who  has  several  wives  and  married  daugh- 
ters, only  a  few  weeks  ago  married  a  young  girl  about 
fifteen  years  of  age — a  child  that  his  first  wife  had 
adopted  and  brought  up  as  her  own.  It  is  said  to  be 
a  source  of  great  sorrow  to  his  first  wife.  Such  men 
deserve  punishment ;  for  there  is  no  shadow  of 
religious  obligation  in  the  transaction.  I  know  that 
he  has  next  to  no  faith  in  Brigham  Young. 

But  there  is  a  pleasing  change  noticeable  in  the 
plural  marriages  in  Salt  Lake.  There  are  not  nearly 
so  many  marriages  of  this  kind  among  the  actual 
citizens  of  Salt  Lake  City  as  there  were  three  or 
four  years  ago.  The  girls,  although  they  will  tell 
you  that  they  believe  it  is  right,  will  also  say  that 
they  would  rather  do  with  "  a  little  less  glory"  here- 
after and  take  a  little  more  comfort  here.  Many  at 
the  same  time  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  they  are 
altogether  doubtful  about  the  propriety  of  such  mar- 
riages, for  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  Polygamy 
have  made  such  bad  men  of  their  fathers  and  such 
victims  of  their  mothers. 

It  is  not  our  city  girls  who  maintain  so  much  the 
plural  marriages  ;  but  it  is  chiefly  the  newly  arrived 
English  and  country  girls  who  supply  the  Patriarchs. 

The  American  Elders  have  derived  a  rich  harvest 
from  Britain  for  many  years  past.  Soon  after  the 
introduction  of  Polygamy,  an  elder  was  seldom 
known  to  return  from  his  mission  to  England  with- 
out arranging  there  for  one,  sometimes  two,  and  I 
have  known, as  many  as  three  girls — and  these  own 
sisters  also — brought  out  at  one  time  and  all  married 
by  the  same  man.     I  personally  know  several  men 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       /Q 

who  have  done  so,  but,  on  account  of  their  families, 
I  do  not  wish  to  mention  their  names. 

The  elders  are  not  permitted  to  marry  these  extra 
wives  while  engaged  on  their  missions  in  foreign 
countries,  but  are  counselled  to  wait  till  they  return 
"  home."  Some  of  these  weak  brothers,  however, 
have  not  been  able  to  wait  for  the  ceremonies  of  the 
"  Endowment  House."  It  is  but  just  to  add  that  they 
do  marry  them  when  they  get  to  "  Zion." 

Some  elders  have  bound  the  foreign  girls  by 
solemn  vows  or  covenants  to  become  their  wives 
when  they  get  to  Utah ;  and  the  poor  girls,  believing 
that  these  men,  because  they  were  missionaries,  were 
justified  in  all  they  did,  have  many  times,  to  their 
great  injury,  kept  those  "  covenants"  and  married 
them.  One  young  lady,  on  her  arrival  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  came  to  my  house  to  live,  and  after  she  had 
been  with  me  about  a  week,  I  noticed  that  a  married 
man  came  very  frequently  to  see  her.  As  I  took  a 
great  interest  in  her,  I  questioned  her,  and  advised 
her  not  to  enter  rashly  into  any  marriage.  She  was 
a  very  handsome  and  a  good  girl,  and  she  assented 
to  the  propriety  of  what  I  said.  But  the  visitor  still 
continued  to  come,  and  I  observed  that  the  girl  be- 
came very  much  depressed  and  unhappy,  and  I  fre- 
quently found  her  in  tears.  I  then  determined  to 
inquire  into  the  matter,  for  I  had  heard  so  much  of 
the  elders  binding  women  by  these  covenants;  and  I 
found  that  in  this  case  the  man  had  persecuted  her 
with  his  attentions  and  protestations  of  undying  love, 
and  his  power  to  "  exalt "  her  in  the  kingdom  of  God, 
urftil  he  had  exacted  from  her  a  promise  to  become 


80  WHAT   I   K^'OW   ABOUT   POLYGAMY. 

his  wife.  Not  contented  with  her  simple  promise, 
for  he  knew  that  she  did  not  really  love  him,  he  framed 
an  oath  and  made  her  repeat  it  after  him.  She  would 
not  tell  me  the  nature  of  the  oath,  for  she  said  it  was 
too  dreadful  to  repeat.  She  said  that  since  she  had 
taken  this  vow  she  had  become  perfectly  wretched, 
and  could  not  tell  what  to  do. 

I  advised  her  to  go  to  President  Young  about  it ; 
for  I  knew  that  he  had  publicly  told  the  Elders  that 
they  were  not  to  make  these  covenants,  and  I 
thought  that  he  was  too  honourable  a  man  to  see  a 
helpless  girl  imposed  upon.  She  did  not  like  to  go 
and  see  him,  and  said  that  she  was  ashamed  of  hav- 
ing made  such  a  covenant ;  "  besides,"  she  added, 
"no  matter  what  the  President  might  say,  I  know 
that  the  Lord  would  curse  me  if  I  were  to  break  that 
covenant."  As  she  did  not  lodge  at  my  house,  1 
could  not  keep  her  out  of  this  man's  company  as 
much  as  I  wished  ;  and  he,  knowing  that  delays  are 
dangerous,  lost  no  time  in  accomplishing  his  wishes. 
She  had  no  relations,  and  was  therefore  entirely  in 
his  power. 

One  Friday  evening  I  asked  Mr.  Stenhouse  to  in- 
vite her  to  accompany  us  to  a  ball,  and  she  gladly 
accepted,  as  she  had  refused  to  go  with  her  tor- 
menter,  and  she  hoped  that  it  would  offend  him. 
Next  day  she  did  not  make  her  appearance  as  usual, 
and  I  became  alarmed,  for  Saturday  is  the  day  on 
which  they  marry  at  the  "  Endowment  House."  I 
sent  to  her  friend's  house  where  she  slept,  and  they 
replied  that  she  had  gone  to  be  married. 

In  the  afternoon  she  came  to  me  looking  the  pic- 


WHAT  T  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       8 1 

ture  of  wretchedness,  and  said,  "  Mrs.  Stenhouse, 
last  night  at  the  ball,  that  man brought  Presi- 
dent   to  me  and  told  him  that  I  had  promised  to 

marry  him,  and  now  would  not  do  so.     President 

said,  *  If  you  have  promised,  keep  your  covenant'  I 
have  fulfilled  my  covenant,  but  I  have  wrecked  my 
happiness,  for  I  cannot  bear  the  man  I  have  married. 
I  have  told  him  so,"  she  continued,  "  but  he  does  not 
care  about  it."  I  even  then  begged  of  her  to  let  me 
see  President  Young,  and  consult  with  him,  that  if 
possible  something  might  be  done  to  assist  her  out 
of  her  trouble.  But  she  would  not  let  me  do  so  ;  and 
it  was  evident  that  the  man  had  acquired  such  a 
terrifying  influence  over  her  that  she  really  believed 
she  would  be  lost  for  ever  if  she  did  not  literally 
fulfil  the  covenant  which  she  had  made.  This  was 
one  case  that  came  particularly  under  my  notice. 
But  I  have  frequently  heard  of  such  follies  and  das- 
tardly impositions  upon  young  and  inexperienced 
girls. 

Another  young  lady,  a  very  near  and  dear  friend, 
was  crossing  the  plains  to  Utah,  when  she  met  with 
one  of  the  elders,  who  had  been  on  a  mission  and 
was  returning.  They  became  quite  intimate,  as 
people  did  at  that  time  when  taking  so  long  a  journey 
together  ;  and  he  proposed  marriage  to  her.  At  the 
same  time  he  used  all  his  eloquence  to  show  her  how 
much  better  it  would  be  to  marry  a  man  who  held 
such  a  high  position  in  the  church  as  he  held.  He 
managed  to  convince  her,  and  then  persuaded  her  to 
enter  into  a  covenant  with  him  by  which  she  would 
be  bound  to  marry  him. 


82       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

Upon  their  arrival  in  Utah,  he  took  her  straight  to 
his  home,  fearing,  I  suppose,  that  some  one  else 
might  get  her  ;  for  at  that  time  young  girls  did  not 
long  remain  single,  and  she  was  a  very  fine-looking 
girl  and  very  clever  with  her  needle.  She  would, 
therefore,  have  made  a  desirable  addition  to  any 
man's  family  ;  but  when  she  saw  the  home  he  took 
her  to,  she  was  horrified,  and  made  up  her  mind  to 
escape.  But  he  had  got  her  there,  and  as  she  knew 
no  one  in  the  country,  she  felt  that  there  was  no  pos- 
sibility of  escape. 

When  I  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City,  I  made  enquiry 
about  all  this,  as  I  had  a  right  to,  and  found  that  he 
had  actually  frightened  her  into  marrying  him  by 
making  her  believe  that  the  curse  of  heaven  would 
rest  upon  her  if  she  were  to  break  that  covenant ; 
and  she  passed  a  most  wretched  life,  raising  a  family 
in  abject  poverty. 

I  would  not  have  my  readers  think  that  I  wish  to 
say  unkind  things  of  the  men  of  Utah,  for  I  do  not 
feel  unkindly  towards  them.  I  once  felt  as  if  I  per- 
fectly hated  the  whole  of  the  male  sex,  so  great  was 
my  indignation.  But  now  it  is  different  ;  for  I  am  a 
free  woman,  and  therefore  happy.  How  delightful  is 
the  sense  of  liberty !  Oh  !  that  all  the  women  of  Utah 
could  feel  as  I  do  this  day.  My  object  is  not  to 
decry  Or  speak  evil  of  individuals.  I  simply  want  to 
show  what  men  will  do  when  under  the  influence  of 
superstition,  and  how  it  will  destroy  the  finest  feel- 
ings of  their  natures. 

People  upon  whom  I  could  rely  have  told  me  of 
men  who  have  unexpectedly  married  other  wives  and 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       83 

brought  them  home  before  their  first  wives  knew 
any  thing  about  it ;  and  this,  simply  because  they 
had  not  courage  to  introduce  the  subject,  and 
thought,  as  they  say,  that  it  would  be  best  to  "  take 
a  deep  plunge  and  struggle  out."  Who  can  conceive 
the  feelings  of  a  wife  who  has  been  thus  treated  ; 
and  what  does  a  man  know  of  woman's  nature,  who 
can  dare  to  treat  her  so  ;  thinking  and  saying  that 
"  bye-and-bye  she  will  be  all  right,  and  will  get  over 
it!" 

Men  of  Utah !  don't  you  believe  it !  Women 
never  do  get  over  such  treatment.  They  may  appear 
calm  ;  they  may  appear  to  forget ;  but  all  the  while 
the  remembrance  of  their  wrongs  is  rankling  in  their 
hearts  against  you,  and  is  never,  never  forgotten. 
The  more  devotedly  a  woman  loves  her  husband,  the 
more  keenly  she  feels  any  thing  that  is  calculated  to 
destroy  her  confidence  in  the  man  she  has  looked 
upon  as  superior  to  all  others,  and  when  once  that  con- 
fidence is  destroyed,  how  is  it  to  be  renewed  t 

O  men  of  Utah  !  if  you  only  knew  the  secret 
heart-aches  of  those  you  have  vowed  to  love  and  pro- 
tect, (and  I  believe  that  many  of  you  would  guard 
and  protect  them  from  sorrow,  if  you  could,)  sift  this 
matter,  and  know  for  yourselves  how  more  than 
foolish  it  is  for  you  to  cast  away  the  true  and  un- 
divided love  of  one  devoted  heart.  Pay  no  attention 
to  your  wives  when  they  tell  you  that  they  are  happy, 
that  they  are  satisfied.  Tfiey  may  tell yow  this  when 
their  very  hearts  are  breaking,  simply  because  they 
wish  to  please  their  husbands,  and,  above  all,  to  do 
the  will  of  God.     If  you  had  the  least  discernment, 


84       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY, 

you  would  discover  by  the  changed  manner,  the 
almost  cold  indifference  of  the  loved  ones,  who  once 
were  gushing  with  affection,  whose  winning  and  en- 
dearing ways  captivated  your  hearts,  that  something 
must  be  wrong.  I  can  never  believe  that  the  great 
God  created  our  natures,  such  as  they  are,  and  then 
gave  us  laws  that  would  outrage  them. 

I  know  that  the  Mormons  would  answer — "  But 
you  must  bring  your  natures  into  subjection  to  the 
laws  of  God."  I  know  that  no  human  being  ever 
tried  harder  than  I  did  to  bring  my  own  nature  into 
subjection  to  this  so-called  "  law  of  God ;"  but  the 
more  I  saw  of  it,  the  more  I  loathed  it,  until  I  became 
perfectly  disgusted  and  humiliated  at  being  obliged 
to  live  in  accordance  with  it. 


^o^  or  •-■-■■■      '<^ 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Illustrations  of  practical  Polygamy — A  "  Sister"  in  deep  Affliction— 
A  Husband's  Cruelty — A  sad  End — Various  and  fearful  Results  of 
Polygamy — Broken  Hearts  and  Lunacy — Men  "sparking"  in  the 
Bail-Room — Women  sitting  as  "  Wall-flowers" — Painful  Memories 
— Introduced  to^z^^  Wives — "Are  these  a// you  have  got?" — Ma- 
trimonial Felicities. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  in  Salt  Lake  City,  I  visited 
a  family  where  there  were  five  wives,  three  of  whom 
I  met  on  my  first  visit.  They  were  all  three  intelli- 
gent women  ;  but  it  pained  me  very  much  to  see  the 
sorrow  depicted  on  the  face  of  the  first  wife.  She 
appeared  to  me  to  be  suffering  intensely  while  I  was 
there  ;  for  the  last  wife,  who  seemed  to  be  a  thought- 
less, lively  girl,  was  jesting  with  her  husband,  toying 
with  his  hair,  and  fussing  with  him  in  general,  in  a 
manner  which  I  felt  at  the  time  was  quite  out  of 
place,  even  had  she  been  his  only  wife.  Under  the 
circumstances,  it  was  to  me  terribly  offensive  ;  and  I 
felt  that,  if  I  had  been  the  first  wife,  I  should  have 
annihilated  her,  could  I  have  done  so. 

My  sympathies  then  were  all  with  the  first  wife. 
In  fact,  they  have  been  always  so,  to  a  very  great  ex- 
tent. But  I  also  feel  deeply  for  young  girls,  who 
contract  such  marriages  from  a  sincere  conviction 
that  they  are  doing  what  is  right,  and  what  will  be 
most  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God.  Then  there  are 
women  who  ignore  religion,  and  every  thing  else,  in 


S6  WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

the  matter  ;  all  they  think  about  is  getting  the  man 
they  want.  These  women  are  devoid  of  principle, 
and  invariably  cause  trouble. 

My  whole  soul  was  drawn  out  toward  the  lady 
whom  I  have  just  mentioned,  when  I  saw  how  deeply 
she  was  suffering.  I  felt  as  if  I  wanted  to  throw  my 
arms  around  her  and  speak  words  of  comfort,  if  one 
in  misery  could  console  another  ;  and  I  resolved  to 
become  better  acquainted  with  her.  I  did  so,  and 
we  became  very  friendly.  She  told  me  of  her  sor- 
rows. She  thought  it  was  very  wicked  of  her  to  feel 
as  she  did,  but  she  could  not  help  it ;  and  she  told 
me  that  when  she  saw  her  husband  so  happy  with 
the  other  wives,  it  was  then  that  she  felt  most  mise- 
rable, and  could  not  hide  her  feelings  from  him.  At 
those  times,  he  would  "  sulk"  with  her,  coming  in  and 
out  of  the  house  for  days  together  without  noticing 
her,  and  showing  more  than  ever  his  fondness  for  the 
other  one.  She  said,  "  I  bear  it  as  long  as  I  can,  and 
then  I  beg  of  him  not  to  treat  me  so,  as  I  can  not  live 
without  his  love." 

I  asked  her  how  she  could  continue  to  love  him 
when  he  treated  her  so  ? 

"  O  Mrs.  Stenhouse ! "  she  said,  "  when  he  treats 
me  at  all  kindly,  I  am  satisfied.  When  he  smiles  on 
me,  I  am  only  too  happy.  When  I  cease  to  love  him, 
then  I  must  be  dead  ;  and  even  then,"  she  added,  "  I 
think  I  should  love  him  still !" 

I  felt  all  this  very  much  ;  and,  after  a  few  words  of 
sympathy  to  the  neglected  wife,  I  left  her.  But  what 
I  had  heard  made  a  great  impression  on  my  mind. 
"  Thank  God,"  I  said,  "  m}'  husband  will  never  3.ct  like 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       8/ 

this  1"  In  fact,  I  did  not  at  that  time  believe  that  he 
would  even  wish  to  take  another  wife  ;  but  I  was 
soon  to  be  undeceived.  I  saw  this  lady  many  times 
after  the  occasion  which  I  have  mentioned,  and  I  be- 
came very  much  attached  to  her.  She  was  a  very 
sweet,  inteUigent  little  woman  ;  and  she  would  often 
say  to  me,  "  I  think  I  should  like  to  die  when  my 
babe  is  born ;  for  I  feel  that  they  could  do  without 
me,  and  I  am  only  a  trouble  to  them  here.  I  am  al- 
ways sick,  because  I  am  always  unhappy." 

I  tried  to  rally  her  out  of  these  sad  feelings,  but 
my  efforts  availed  but  little.  I  was  myself  sick  a  few 
weeks  after ;  and,  when  I  recovered,  I  heard  that  she 
was  dead,  and  her  babe  also.  I  said,  "  Thank  God, 
she  is  now  at  rest !" 

This  is  only  one  sad  story  out  of  many  equally  as 
sad. 

Some  wives  have  gone  crazy,  and  died  in  this  con- 
dition, all  through  their  sad  experience  in  Polygamy. 
Not  long  since,  the  fifth  or  sixth  wife  of  one  of  the 
leading  men  of  Salt  Lake  City  died  bereft  of  reason. 
Her  husband  was  about  marrying  a  young  girl  at  the 
same  time,  and  refused  to  go  and  see  his  dying  wife. 
That  man's  name  would  astonish  my  readers,  did  I 
publish  it,  for  he  is  universally  respected  as  one  of 
the  best  men  in  Mormonism  ;  and  I  can  only  account 
for  his  inhumanity  by  considering  the  poverty  and 
debasement  into  which  Polygamy  had  plunged  him. 

Several  cases  of  lunacy  have  come  under  my  own 
personal  notice  ;  and  two  young  women,  of  very  re- 
spectable families,  with  whom  I  am  acquainted,  nar- 
rowly escaped  from  the  effects  of  poison,  which,  in 


88       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

their  misery,  they  had  taken  as  a  last  resource.  I 
have  heard  of  many  more  cases  of  desperate  attempts 
at  suicide. 

To  say  that  there  are  no  men  who  try  to  be.  just  in 
the  practice  of  Polygamy  would  be  very  wrong,  for 
there  are  men  in  Utah  who  try  their  best  to  act 
rightly  to  all  their  wives.  These  men  are  generally 
those  who  care  very  little  about  religion  ;  and  I  have 
often  said  of  them,  (of  one  in  particular,)  if  they  are 
good  with  Mormonism,  how  much  better  would  they 
be  without  it.  It  is  my  firm  belief  that  Mormonism 
has  perverted  some  of  the  best  of  natures. 

On  the  other  h^nd,  I  have  known  men  who  were 
reputed  good  husbands  and  fathers  before  they  went 
to  Utah,  and,  after  they  had  been  there  a  few  years, 
they  did  not  seem  like  the  same  beings.  They  be- 
came harsh  and  cold  in  their  natures,  and  so  cruel  to 
their  wives  and  neglectful  of  their  children,  that  it 
seemed  as  if  they  thought  of  nothing  but  getting 
wives  and  pleasing  themselves,  regardless  of  whether 
they  could  support  their  families  or  not.  These  were 
generally  the  most  religious  men. 

We  had  not  been  long  in  Salt  Lake  City  before  the 
ball  season  commenced.  These  balls  afford  splendid 
opportunities  to  the  men  for  flirting  with  the  girls. 
No  matter  how  old  and  homely  a  man  is,  he  thinks 
that  he  has  as  much  right  to  flirt  and  dance  with  the 
girls  as  the  youngest  boy ;  for  they  all  look  upon 
themselves  and  each  other  as  boys  and  single  men, 
even  if  they  have  a  dozen  wives.  There  is  no  limit 
to  their  "  privileges."  They  are  always  in  the  mar- 
ket.    Brigham,  in  his  public  discourses,  has  said  that 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       89 

the  brethren  "are  all  young  men  under  a  hundred 
years  of  age."  With  such  an  extended  privilege,  it 
is  here  in  Utah  that  hoary  Winter  and  smiling  May 
can  be  seen  galloping  forth  in  the  dance  together. 
A  thoughtful  subject  for  the  artist's  pencil. 

It  is  of  no  consequence  how  much  a  man  may  flirt 
in  the  presence  of  his  wife  or  wives.  They  must  not 
presume  to  say  one  word  to  him  about  it  ;  for  the 
husband  is  free  to  do  whatever  he  likes.  He  is  one 
of  the  lords  of  creation.  He  is  master  of  his  wives, 
of  his  children.  Then,  how  can  one  of  his  own  dare 
to  call  in  question  any  thing  he  may  think  fit  to  do  .'* 
She  may,  it  is  true,  do  so ;  but  she  must  take  the 
consequences  of  that  rash  act. 

Oh !  how  I  loathe  even  the  very  remembrance  of 
those  hateful  ball-rooms,  where  I  have  seen  so  many 
unhappy  wives,  and  have  heard  so  many  tales  of  sor- 
row. For,  while  the  wives  would«be  sitting  as  "  wall- 
flowers," along  the  sides  of  the  hall,  after  having 
danced  the  first  dance  with  their  husbands,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  form,  I  have  heard  them  many  times  telling 
each  other  about  what  they  had  seen  their  husbands 
doing  during  the  evening  ;  and  how  they  had  been 
compelled  to  pay  attention  to  some  jabbering  little 
girl  that  their  husbands  chanced  to  fancy  ;  and  they 
had  to  do  it  also  for  peace'  sake,  and  appear  to  be 
satisfied. 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  I  did  not  like  these  so- 
cial amusements  myself,  for  I  did  ;  and  could,  under 
other  circumstances,  have  enjoyed  them  very  much. 
But  I  had  been  told  so  many  things  of  the  unplea- 
santnesses of  a  ball-room  in  Salt  Lake  City — at  least, 


90       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

to  married  women — that  my  apprehensions  were 
aroused.  But  all  that  was  ever  told  me  never  half 
came  up  to  the  truth  ;  nor  can  I  possibly  myself  give 
the  reader  any  correct  idea  of  the  heart-aches  and 
sorrows  which  these  scenes  bring  to  the  wives  of 
Mormons. 

It  is  quite  a  common  thing  for  married  men 
to  go  with  young  girls  to  these  balls.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  men,  however,  prefer  to  take  their 
first  wives  with  them  at  the  same  time  ;  but  it  is 
not  infrequent  to  hear  a  lady  say,  in  the  ball- 
room, "  My  husband  has  brought  his  girl  here 
to-night  ;  but  I  have  not  spoken  one  word  to 
her,  nor  will  I  do  so."  Yet  if  any  one  were  to  ask 
these  same  ladies  if  they  believed  that  Polygamy  was 
right,  they  would  say,  "  Certainly,  I  do  ;  but  I  do  not 
like  herl' — and  this  simply  because  their  husbands 
had  paid  her  atterftions.  This  seems  like  inconsis- 
tency ;  but  it  serves  to  show  what  conflicting  feelings 
Mormon  women  have  to  contend  with. 

The  men  should  hear  what  their  wives  say  about 
them  in  the  ball-rooms,  and  the  hatred  they  feel  for 
them.  I  have  seen  some  women  sitting  quietly  eye- 
ing their  husbands,  as  they  danced  or  flirted  with 
their  younger  loves,  till  their  cup  of  indignation  was 
full.  Then  they  would  make  for  the  dressing-rooms, 
where  their  anger  would  burst  upon  the  ears  of  a 
group  of  eager  listeners,  who  were  seemingly  pleased 
to  learn  that  some  one  else  was  suffering  as  well  as 
themselves.  A  half-repressed  threat,  "  I  will  be  equal 
with  him,"  has  escaped  the  lips  of  those  who,  before 
that,  had  passed  for  being  happily  situated. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.        ^^ 

Where  new  matrimonial  alliances  are  continually 
taking  place,  the  arrival  of  a  gentleman,  with  his 
wife,  wives,  or  a  maiden,  in  the  ball-room,  is  never  re- 
marked ;  and,  not  infrequently,  different  wives  arrive 
at  different  hours  during  the  evening,  as  it  suits  their 
convenience;  and  thus  it  would  be  difficult  to  say 
who  came  with  their  "  lord."  Besides,  no  observation 
is  made  if  a  lady  thus  enters  the  ball-room  alone, 
though  it  is  expected  that  her  husband  is  aware  of 
her  coming.  This  coming  alone,  however,  is  not  a 
common  habit ;  but,  as  it  is  admissible,  it  does  occa- 
sionally happen  that  a  husband  is  dancing  or  enjoy- 
ing himself  in  the  ball-room  with  his  last  Jianc/e, 
when  a  vigilant  pair  of  eyes  searches  over  the  room 
and  lights  upon  the  happy  "  lord."  When  eyes  like 
these  encounter  the  eyes  they  seek,  a  change  is  seen, 
and  the  youthful  airiness  of  the  gentleman  vanishes, 
and  sober  looks  follow  the  gaiety  of  the  earlier  hour. 

It  is  a  very  difficult  thing  for  a  woman,  after  pass- 
ing through  such  scenes  over  and  over  again,  and 
knowing  them  to  be  true,  to  have  much  respect  left 
for  the  Mormon  men  v/ho  practice  Polygamy.  Though 
they  consider  themselves  to  be  benefactors,  they  act 
like  oppressors  of  womankind.  I  am  not  alone  in 
this  opinion.  I  know  scores  of  ladies  in  Utah,  both 
married  and  single,  who  feel  and  speak  exactly  as  I 
do  on  this  subject. 

I  met  President  Heber  C.  Kimball  at  one  of  these 
balls,  soon  after  my  arrival.  He  said  that  he  would 
introduce  me  to  /tts  wife.  Every  one  liked  Heber  for 
his  outspoken,  honest  bluntness.  He  took  me  up 
the  hall  and  introduced  me  to  five  wives  in  succes- 


92       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

sion  !    "  Now,"  said  he,  "  I  think  I'll  quit ;  for  I  fancy 
you  are  not  over  strong  in  the  faith." 

I  asked,  "  Are  these  all  you  have  got  ?" 

"  O  dear  !  no,"  he  said  ;  "  I  have  a  few  more  at 
ho7ne,  and  about  fifty  more  scattered  over  the  earth 
somewhere.  I  have  never  seen  thern  since  they 
were  sealed  to  me  in  Nauvoo,  and  I  hope  I  never 
shall  again." 

I  thought  this  was  terrible ;  but  it  was  only  the 
beginning  of  worse  things. 

After  this  winter,  I  had  very  little  peace ;  for  the 
women  were  constantly  talking  to  me  about  my  hus- 
band getting  another  wife.  He  held  out,  however, 
for  five  years,  but  at  last  he  "  felt  it  was  his  duty  to 
do  so,"  and  I  was  silly  enough  to  allow  that  "  he  was 
not  living  up  to  his  religion"  unless  he  took  an  extra 
wife. 

I  shall  never  forget  those  ball-room  scenes.  Even 
to  this  day,  when  I  chance  to  listen  to  tunes  which  I 
used  to  hear  played  in  those  times,  they  grate  so  ter- 
ribly upon  my  ear,  and  bring  back  so  many  sad  re- 
collections, that  I  want  to  get  away  from  the  sound 
of  them  as  quickly  as  possible,  for  they  are  more  than 
I  can  endure.  Bygone  recollections  are  often  recalled 
by  trifles  such  as  this. 

A  fe\v  months  ago,  I  attended  a  ball  in  Salt  Lake 
City.  It  was  the  first  I  had  been  to  since  I  withdrew 
from  the  church  ;  and  of  course  it  was  got  up  by  the 
"  Liberal  Party."  I  felt  free  and  happy,  for  there  was 
nothing  to  annoy  or  disturb  me.  Suddenly  the  band 
struck  up  a  tune  which  I  had  heard  while  attending 
the  Mormon  balls.      It  sounded  like  the  death-knell 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       93 

of  all  my  pleasant  feelings,  and  aroused  memories  of 
the  past  which  were  so  intensely  painful  that  I  could 
not  rally  from  the  depression  that  I  felt  for  the  rest 
of  the  evening.  I  had  heard  that  tune  before,  and 
many  like  it,  and  had  even  danced  to  it,  while  my 
heart  was  breaking.  Can  it  excite  wonder  that  I 
should  feel  thus  ?  I  knew  too  much  of  those  assem- 
blies, which  to  some  are  heaven,  to  others  purga- 
tory! 

Let  me  ask  my  lady  readers — those,  I  mean,  who 
have  never  been  in  Utah — Ladies,  how  do  you  think 
you  would  feel  if  yott  were  kept  waiting  long  after  the 
hour  of  midnight,  far  away  into  the  morning,  until 
your  husbands  had  got  through  with  their  dancing 
and  flirting,  while  your  own  hearts  were  breaking  ? 
I  think  I  hear  you  say,  "  I  would  not  stand  it."  You 
do  not  know,  I  assure  you,  w/iat  you  would  do  under 
the  circumstances.  What  can  you  know — you,  Ameri- 
can women,  who  are  petted  and  indulged  to  such 
an  extent  that  you  do  not  really  know  what  sorrow 
is  ?  How  can  you  possibly  judge  what  the  feelings 
of  a  Mormon  woman  are,  who  has  been  taught  to  be- 
lieve that  "  her  desire  shall  be  unto  her  husband,  and 
he  shall  rule  over  her!'' 

This  is  no  imaginary  "  rule,"  but  a  stern  fact.  Wo- 
man in  Utah  is  only  a  chattel  I 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Going  to  the  "Endowment  House" — Wives  cruel  to  othei  Wives — 
The  Story  of  a  young  second  Wife — How  she  came  to  Marry — 
How  she  was  treated — Her  Husband's  neglect — Cruelty  of  the  first 
Wife — Goes  to  the  *' Bishop" — How  young  Girls  in  Polygamy 
value  the  Attentions  of  their  Husbands — ^The  Ways  of  Mormon  Men. 

One  day  my  husband  came  home,  apparently  very 
much  pleased  about  something,  and  said  to  me, 
**  What  do  you  think  ? — we  have  the  privilege  of  re- 
ceiving our  '  Endowments'  *  next  Saturday."  This, 
he  added,  was  really  a  great  favor,  as  many  had  been 
there  a  much  longer  time  and  had  not  received  them. 
I  made  no  answer,  and  finally  he  asked — "  Are  you 
not  pleased  with  the  invitation  ?" 

I  answered — "  No,  I  do  not  want  to  have  my  En- 
dowments." 

"  And  why  not  ?"  he  enquired. 

"Because,"  I  said,  "I  have  heard  so  much  about 
it,  that  I  have  not  only  no  desire,  but  I  have  a  great 
repugnance  to  '  going  through  the  Endowments.'  " 

This  surprised  him.  We  had,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected,  a  little  very  pleasant  (.?)  conversation  on  the 
subject;  and  finally  Mr.  S.,  dissatisfied  with  my 
opposition,  left  the  house.  When  he  returned,  he 
told  me  that  it  was  not  absolutely  needful  for  us  to 
go  on  the  ensuing  Saturday,  but  we  could  go  on  the 

*  Secret  rites  of  the  Priesthood. 


WHAT  1  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       95 

Saturday  following,  and  that  would  give  me  time  to 
think  of  it.  In  my  own  mind  I  said — I  shall  not  go 
at  all !  But,  after  quietly  reflecting  about  the  matter, 
I  saw  that  my  husband  was  willing  to  concede  some- 
what, and  it  only  seemed  fair  that  I  should  do  as 
much  ;  particularly  as  I  knew  that  when  he  was  told 
to  go  there,  he  was  obliged  to  do  so.  For  if  he  had 
said  that  he  could  not  go  to  receive  the  Endowments 
because  his  wife  did  not  wish  to,  he  would  have  made 
himself  an  object  of  ridicule.  He  would  probably 
have  been  "  counselled"  to  take  another  wife  and  go 
through  the  Endowments  with  her,  (as  he  could  not 
go  alone,)  and  I  should  have  been  baffled  and  humi- 
liated. I,  therefore,  thought  it  was  best  for  me  to 
submit ;  but  I  did  not  do  so  by  any  means  with  a  good 
feeling.     I  simply  "  stooped  to  conquer." 

I  went  through  that  "  Endowment  House"  with 
the  very  worst  feelings  that  any  woman  could  have, 
and  scarcely  noticed  what  was  passing  around  me. 
In  justice  to  the  Mormons,  I  feel  bound  to  state  that 
the  accounts  which  I  have  frequently  read,  professing 
to  give  a  description  of  the  "  Endowments"  given  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  are  almost  altogether  exaggerated, 
and  have  generally  been  written  either  by  the  ene- 
mies of  the  Saints,  or  by  those  who  knew  nothing  at 
all  about  the  matter.  I  myself  saw  nothing  indeli- 
cate ;  though  I  had  been  led  to  believe  that  improper 
things  did  take  place  there,  and  I  was  determined 
not  to  submit  to  any  thing  of  the  kind. 

When  we  had  got  through,  I  thought — "  If  there 
is  really  any  good  in  these  ceremonies,  or  any  bless- 
ing to  be  derived  from  them,  I  certainly  shall  never 


g6  WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

get  it.'.'  It  did  not,  however,  trouble  me  very  much  ; 
for  I  was  beginning  in  real  earnest  to  feel  tired  of 
serving  "the  Lord"  after  the  fashion  taught  by  the 
Mormon  elders,  and  that  I  should  have  to  give  up 
the  whole  religion.  It  was  a  one-sided  affair  alto- 
gether, and  it  was  rarely  that  I  could  get  so  much  as 
a  good  feeling  to  help  me  along. 

There  was  scarcely  a  day  passed  without  some- 
thing unpleasant,  or  something  calculated  to  shake 
my  faith,  occurring  before  my  eyes.  Either  some 
woman  was  suffering  from  neglect,  while  her  husband 
was  living  with  a  young  wife  and  spending  all  his 
time  and  money  with  her ;  or  some  young  girl  was 
abused  and  persecuted  by  the  first  wife  ;  or  it  might 
be  that  there  was  nothing  but  quarrelling,  hatred, 
and  complaints  among  them  all.  Then  I  would  ask 
myself — "  Where  is  the  Spirit  of  God  in  all  this  ? 
Surely  this  is  none  of  His  work  !"  The  injustice  and 
cruelty  of  men  to  their  wives,  the  hardness  of  women 
towards  each  other,  and  the  dejected,  timid,  cringing 
women  who  were  afraid  to  call  their  lives  their  own, 
were  sights  so  painful  to  behold  that  I  could  scarcely 
continue  to  believe  that  the  Lord  had  any  thing  to 
do  with  the  Mormon  faith. 

These  are  things  that  I  have  seen,  and  that  I  know 
to  be  true.  Were  I  at  liberty  to  do  so,  and  were  it 
not  a  betrayal  of  confidence,  I  could  give  the  names 
of  women  in  Salt  Lake  City  who  are  now  residing 
there,  and  who  have  suffered  and  are  suffering  this 
oppression  as  much  now  as  then. 

I  could  tell  the  reader  tales  of  such  cruelty  in  the 
case  of  one  woman  towards  another — wives  of  the 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       9/ 

same  man — that  he  would  hardly  believe  it  could  be 
true,  and  I  should  be  ashamed  to  relate  the  story.  I 
will,  however,  give  one  short  account  which  will  per- 
haps afford  an  insight  into  the  whole  system,  when 
illustrated  by  bad  men. 

I  knew  a  young  woman  who  was  a  second  wife, 
and  she  had  two  children.  She  came  to  me  one  day 
in  great  distress,  and  asked  me  if  I  would  allow  her 
to  come  and  work  for  me.  I  saw  she  was  in  trouble  ; 
and,  as  I  had  seen  her  several  times  before,  and 
knew  that  she  was  a  second  wife  to  a  man  who  lived 
only  a  short  distance  from  us,  I  asked  her  to  tell  me 
what  her  trouble  was.  At  first  she  hesitated,  and 
then  she  told  me  that  she  had  nothing  to  eat  and 
nothing  for  her  little  ones.  I  was  surprised  at  this, 
for  I  knew  that  her  husband  was  in  good  circum- 
stances ;  and  I  asked  her  where  he  was.  She  said, 
"  He  is  away  just  now,  but  it  makes  no  difference 
when  he  is  at  home  ;  it  is  all  the  same.  I  live,"  she 
added,  "  in  the  garret,  and  the  wind  blows  through 
the  roof,  and  it  is  so  cold  that  we  are  nearly  frozen  ; 
and,  when  I  have  asked  for  a  stove,  he  has  told  me 
to  go  and  earn  one.  I  can  cook  at  their  kitchen 
stove  ;  but,  if  I  stay  there  too  long,  his  first  wife  and 
children  do  not  like  it.  I  have  not  been  out  to  work 
since  I  have  been  confined."  Her  babe  was  then 
only  one  month  old. 

Presently  she  continued — "  I  am  out  of  every  thing, 
and  the  other  wife  says  that  she  won't  give  me  any 
thing  ;  that  I  must  go  and  work  for  it." 

"  But,"  I  said,  "  you  can  not  work  yet  Mi^gi^are  not 
strong  enough."  .^^^^^^^-^'^V 


98       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

"  Oh !  yes,  I  can,"  said  she.  "  My  husband  made 
me  work  in  the  yard  when  I  had  only  been  confined 
two  weeks." 

Reader,  would  you  believe  that  this  man  (if  I  may 
call  such  a  creature  a  "  man")  was  an  American  ? 
Now,  I  have  always  thiought  that  the  American  hus- 
bands spoiled  their  wives  ;  but  I  do  not  think  t/tis 
man  was  guilty  of  doing  so. 

The  poor  girl  told  me  that  during  her  confinement 
she  had  been  left  alone  in  that  garret.  They  would 
bring  her,  once  a  day,  something  to  eat  of  whatever 
chanced  to  be  at  hand,  but  she  had  no  light  or 
warmth,  and  she  added — "  I  have  neither  food  nor 
proper  clothing  for  my  children,  and  I  must  go  to 
work  ;  I  must  try  to  get  a  place  to  live  in,  as  my 
husband  will  not  give  me  one." 

I  told  her  that  she  might  come  and  work  for  me, 
and  she  had  to  bring  her  two  little  children  with  her. 
How  I  pitied  her!  She  was  a  really  good-looking 
Danish  girl ;  and,  before  she  had  married  this  man, 
she  had  worked  in  his  family  as  a  servant,  and  had 
helped  in  the  field.  I  believe  that  he  married  her 
only  to  retain  her  services  ;  for  she  said  that  both  he 
and  his  wife  ill-treated  her  because  she  would  not 
work  in  the  field  all  the  time. 

Another  case  I  think  I  may  mention  as  confirma- 
tory of  what  I  have  stated.  It  is  that  of  a  young 
woman  who  was  a  sempstress.  The  first  wife  had 
induced  her  to  marry  her  husband  ;  and,  as  soon  as 
they  were  married,  she  (the  first  wife)  discovered  that 
she  could  not  endure  Polygamy.  Then  began  a  series 
of  persecutions.     She  managed  to  make  her  do  all 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.       99 

the  sewing  for  the  family,  which  consisted  of  boys  ; 
and,  when  that  was  done,  she  insisted  on  her  going 
out  to  work  by  the  day,  and  giving  her  the  money 
that  she  earned  ;  saying  that  she  knew  best  how  to 
spend  it.  This  poor  silly  girl  did  as  she  was  told  ; 
all  the  home  that  was  allotted  to  her  being  a  mise- 
rable little  room  scarcely  furnished. 

She  worked  as  long  as  she  could,  trudging  through 
all  kinds  of  weather  to  go  to  her  every-day  labor, 
until  the  very  day  that  her  first  child  was  born.  The 
first  three  days  after  the  birth  of  her  child,  the  first 
wife  procured  some  help  for  her  ;  but  after  that  she 
would  just  open  the  door  and  put  in  something  for 
her  to  eat,  on  a  tin-plate.  This  she  did,  not  because 
she  had  no  other  plates,  but  because  she  wanted  to 
show  her  contempt  for  the  young  mother ;  and  if 
her  husband  went  into  the  room  for  ten  minutes  to 
see  her,  there  would  be  a  tremendous  fuss.  As  soon 
as  she  was  able,  she  was  made  to  go  to  work  again. 
This  was  a  house  where  the  first  wife  ruled. 

The  poor  creature  (the  second  wife)  went  to  the 
Bishop,  and  asked  what  she  should  do.  He  told  her 
to  bear  it,  and  "  the  Lord  "  would  make  it  all  right 
some  day.  "  The  Lord,"  however,  failed  to  do  so. 
After  she  had  borne  her  weary  trials  for  four  years, 
and  after  a  long  illness,  in  which  she  was  shamefully 
neglected,  she  concluded  very  wisely  that  she  would 
endure  it  no  longer,  and  she  left  them.  It  is  hardly 
possible  to  believe  what  the  poor  girl  suffered  in  that 
illness.  Weak  and  sick  as  she  was,  she  had  to  get 
out  of  bed  and  crawl  to  the  fire-place,  (for  she  was 
far  too  weak  to  walk,)  and  then  prepare  a  fire  as  well 


lOO      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

as  she  could,  in  order  to  make  herself  a  little  tea,  or 
any  thing  she  might  require.  This  was  when  her 
second  child  was  born.  But  this  is  nothing,  com- 
pared with  what  I  might  write.  I  pass  over  such 
very  painful  details.  This  is  the  kind  of  treatment 
that  one  woman  will  sometimes  give  to  another  under 
Polygamy  ;  and  it  is  those  women  who,  from  religious 
zeal,  are  most  anxious  to  "  get  wives  for  their  hus- 
bands," who  thus  misconduct  themselves,  when  their 
religion  is  put  into  practice.  Thank  God  that  such 
women  are  comparatively  few  ! 

There  is  another  class  of  men  in  Polygamy  who 
are  deserving  of  notice.  These  are  honest,  good 
men,  untiring  in  their  efforts  to  make  their  wives 
comfortable  and  happy — were  that  possible.  If  they 
could  provide  a  palace  for  each  wife,  they  would  do 
so.  Such  men,  it  may  well  be  said,  are  slaves  to 
their  families  ;  but,  with  their  best  efforts,  they  can 
not  chase  away  from  their  homes  this  skeleton — 
Polygamy. 

With  their  several  wives  these  men  try  to  be 
scrupulously  just,  never  showing  partiality  in  look, 
word,  or  deed.     I  know  quite  a  number  of  such. 

But  a  short  time  since  I  met  with  one  of  them 
while  spending  the  evening  with  some  of  my  friends. 
His  fourth  wife — a  young  lady — was  present  with 
him.  He  was  very  attentive  and  kind  to  her  ;  and, 
had  she  been  his  only  wife,  he  could  not  have  been 
more  so.  My  attention  was  attracted  bylier  manner 
towards  him.  A  stranger  would  probably  never  have 
noticed  what  I  then  observed.  There  was  a  certain 
sarcastic  bitterness  of  tone  while  accepting  his  atten- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMV.      101 

tions,  as  if  she  felt  that  they  were  simply  hers  by 
right.  I  looked  at  her  and  thought — "  Is  it  possible 
that  you  have  arrived  at  that  condition  already  ?" 
She  was  a  young  lady  scarcely  out  of  her  teens,  only 
a  few  months  married,  and  surrounded  with  every 
comfort.  I  knew  how  she  felt,  for  I  had  passed 
through  a  similar  experience  myself  It  recalled 
vividly  to  my  mind  scenes  that  had  passed  in  my 
own  home,  when  my  husband  had  perhaps  taken 
particular  pains  to  show  me  some  attention,  or  speak 
kind  words  to  me  ;  and  I  had  met  him  with  that 
same  half-concealed  bitter  tone,  believing  that  he  was 
only  acting  a  part  with  me. 

I  was  pained  to  think  that  one  so  young,  whom  I 
had  seen  only  a  few  months  before  a  gay  and  happy 
girl,  should  feel  like  this  ;  and  yet  I  knew  that  it  was 
the  fate  of  every  woman  who  lives  in  Polygamy.  It 
can  not  be  otherwise.  She  felt,  I  know,  that  all  these 
attentions  and  loving  words  would  be  given  to  an- 
other— perhaps  an  hour  after  leaving  her — and  then 
to  another  and  another  still ;  and  thus  they  lost  their 
value  to  her.  Thence  the  cold  and  thankless  tones 
with  which  she  responded  to  her  husband. 

A  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance  who  has  lived 
many  years  in  Polygamy,  a  good,  kind  husband  and 
father,  recently  said  to  me  that  one  of  his  wives  suf- 
fered terribly  from  Polygamy.  He  always  avoided 
any  mention  of  the  word  in  her  presence.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  often  seen  her  happy  and  gay,  with 
every  thing  pleasant  and  agreeable  around  her,  when, 
by  some  unforeseen  fatality,  some  one  present  would 
allude  to  Polygamy.     In  an  instant  a  deep  gloom 


I02      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

would  come  over  her  face  ;  and,  strive  as  he  might  to 
drive  it  away,  it  was  impossible.  It  would  haunt  her 
even  for  days. 

Such  men  as  these  lose  no  opportunity  of  showing 
their  wives  every  kind  attention.  If  they  are  affluent 
and  keep  a  carriage,  they  may  be  seen  driving  out 
with  one  of  the  wives  on  every  occasion.  Their 
sleighs  are  the  first  out  in  the  season.  They  are  to 
be  seen  at  nearly  every  public  amusement.  They 
attend  all  the  balls,  and  dance  only  with  their  wives 
and  other  married  ladies,  except  when  compelled  to 
do  otherwise  with  their  intimate  acquaintances. 

All  this  they  do  to  try  to  make  their  wives  happy 
and  divert  their  thoughts  from  their  secret  sorrow. 
These  poor  men  do  not  know  that  the  very  means 
which  they  take  to  destroy  that  feeling  only  excites 
it  the  more.  A  woman,  as  she  receives  these  kind- 
nesses, only  loves  her  husband  the  better  and  wishes 
that  she  had  all  his  love. 

There  is  no  possible  happiness  in  Polygamy,  even 
with  such  men.  There  can  be  none!  And,  there- 
fore, the  less  love  there  is,  the  better  are  women  able 
to  bear  it.  Brigham  knew  it  when  he  said  in  the' 
Bowery  some  years  ago  that  there  should  be  no  love ; 
it  was  only  a  weakness.  He  understood  the  case 
perfectly. 

It  was  once  remarked  to  me  by  a  visitor  to  Salt 
Lake  City,  in  speaking  of  a  lady  friend  of  mine — 
"  How  beautiful  she  is  when  she  smiles,  but  what  a 
difficult  thing  it  is  to  get  her  to  smile  ;  she  looks  so 
sad  and  mournful."  I  had  known  that  lady  for  many 
years  and  how  deep  her  sorrow  was.     Her  husband 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      IO3 

had  been  away  for  a  long  time  on  a  mission  ;  and  on 
his  return,  when  he  had  been  home  only  a  week  or 
two,  he  married  two  young  girls.  .  It  is  said  that  his 
father  "  counselled "  him  to  do  so  ;  and  from  that 
day,  now  many  years  ago,  she  has  mourned  in  deep 
affliction,  to  which  has  been  added  the  troubles  which 
her  two  lovely  daughters  have  experienced. 

Some  men,  feeling  that  they  have  got  to  practice 
Polygamy  or  else  lose  their  hopes  for  futurity,  set 
themselves  to  work  to  discover  in  what  way  the  task 
can  be  most  easily  accomplished  to  spare  their  wives' 
feelings,  and  make  as  little  change  as  possible  in  their 
households.  On  the  arrival  of  the  emigrants,  they 
will  visit  the  camp  ;  and,  if  they  see  a  young  girl  who 
takes  their  fancy,  (it  may  be  that  they  have  met  be- 
fore in  another  country ;  if  not,  it  makes  no  differ- 
ence,) they  will  oifer  to  take  her  home  until  she  can 
"  look  around  and  see  what  she  can  do."  Or,  if  it 
should  be  the  fall  when  they  arrive,  (and  it  always 
was  so  before  the  railroad  was  in  operation,)  they 
would  offer  them  a  home  for  the  winter,  which  was 
generally  accepted  with  gratitude,  as  a  great  many  of 
them  had  no  relatives  to  go  to. 

Then  they  had  an  opportunity  of  becoming  well 
acquainted  with  each  other  and  with  the  first  wife ; 
and  many  a  wife  consents  to  this  addition,  believing 
that,  as  she  has  got  to  pass  through  the  ordeal  at 
some  time,  this  will  be  the  best  way.  I  know  an 
indulgent  husband  who  has  taken  half  a  dozen  girls, 
one  after  the  other,  into  his  house  for  this  purpose ; 
but  not  one  of  them  seemed  to  suit  his  wife  exactly, 
and  he  has  seemingly  given  it  up  in  despair.  I  hope 
his  sweet  little  wife  may  never  be  suited  ! 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Fears  realized — Meeting  an  old  Friend  from  Switzerland — ^The 
Vicissitudes  of  himself  and  Family — How  he  was  **  counselled  "  to 
take  another  Wife — Brigham  sends  for  me — My  young  Charge — 
**  Not  feeling  well" — My  Husband  seeks  a  second  Wife — A  "  Pain- 
ful "  Task — Striving  to  submit — My  Attempts  at  Friendship  with  his 
Fiancie — My  Heart  not  quite  subdued. 

Upon  our  arrival  in  Utah,  I  longed  to  see  the  con- 
verts who  had  preceded  us  from  Switzerland.  But  it 
was  some  time  before  I  had  the  mingled  pleasure  and 
pain  that  that  meeting  afforded  me. 

One  day  a  countryman  called  to  see  us.     It  was 

Mr. .     I  was  surprised  at  the  difference  in  the 

appearance  of  this  gentleman.  I  hardly  knew  him. 
He  was  changed  from  the  fine-looking,  well-to-do 
bourgeois  to  a  hard-working,  labouring  man,  poorly 
clad,  sun-burnt,  wrinkled,  and  old.  I  could  have 
wept  over  him  when  I  saw  the  change ;  and  when  I 
inquired  about  his  family,  he  told  me  how  they  were, 
and  that  he  had  married  the  young  servant-girl  who 
had  come  with  them  from  Switzerland.  I  was  very 
much  surprised  at  this,  but  dared  not  ask  him  how  it 
had  occurred,  I  thought  I  would  wait  till  I  could 
see  his  wife  ;  but  as  they  lived  about  eighty  miles 
from  the  city,  I  was  not  enabled  to  do  so  till  several 
months  after. 

He  told  me  of  his  difficulties  and  struggles  to  ob- 
tain even  a  bare  livelihood.     His  story  was  that  of 


E??^^ 


o*« 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      10$ 

many  others  going  to  a  new  country.  But  he  did 
not  complain.  When  he  arrived  in  Utah,  he  did  not 
know  what  to  turn  his  attention  to,  and,  after  some 
hesitation,  went  to  farming.  As  he  was  entirely 
ignorant  of  agriculture,  he  could  not,  of  course,  suc- 
ceed. Then  the  grasshoppers  came  and  destroyed 
their  crops  ;  and  one  reverse  after  another  followed, 
until  they  were  reduced  to  miserable  poverty,  and 
utterly  broken  down.  Still,  though  weak  in  body, 
he  was  firm  and  robust  in  his  faith  in  Mormonisni. 
He  was  a  sterling  man. 

As  soon  as  I  had  opportunity  I  went  to  see 
his  wife.  She  was  the  lady  to  whom  I  had  first 
preached  Polygamy  in  Switzerland.  I  found  her  in 
a  little  log-cabin  of  two  rooms,  and  of  course  no  car- 
pet on  the  floors.  In  this  abode  of  poverty  lived  my 
two  kind  friends  whom  I  had  known  under  such  dif- 
ferent circumstances,  and  with  them  were  their  five 
little  children.  But  this  was  not  all.  The  other 
wife  was  also  living  there,  and  she,  poor  girl,  was 
certainly  not  to  blame ;  and  under  the  same  roof 
were  also  her  two  children. 

What  a  change  was  this  !  When  I  first  knew  them 
in  their  own  country,  this  lady  (the  first  wife)  was  a 
gay,  light-hearted,  happy  woman.  Now  she  was 
care-worn,  dull,  and  broken-spirited. 

I  asked  her  how  her  husband  came  to  marry. 

She  answered  me  : — "  If  you  had  been  here  during 
*  the  Reformation,'*  you  would  not  need  to  ask  that 

•  1855-6. — A  period  of  great  and  almost  incredible  excitement  in 
Utah,  when  the  wildest  doctrines  were  urged  by  the  teachers  and 
dders,  producing  the  most  fearful  result*. 


I06      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

question."  Then  she  added — "  You  ought  to  thank 
God  that  you  were  not.  The  men  were  all  crazy 
here,  and  were  marrying  every  woman  they  could 
^et.  The  Bishop  came  to  my  husband  one  day  and 
told  him  that  he  had  not  *  kept  the  commandments/ 
and  that  he  must  get  another  wife  within  a  week. 
The  teachers  also  went  to  the  servant-girl  and  told 
her  that  she  must  get  married,  and  that,  if  she  had 
no  one  in  view,  they  would  select  some  one  for  her. 

"  Those  were  fearful  times.  No  one  dared  refuse 
to  listen  to  '  counsel*     What  could  we  do  .? 

"  My  husband  talked  to  me  about  the  matter.  He 
said  that  he  had  never  before  thought  of  it,  and  there- 
fore he  did  not  know  whom  to  ask  to  be  his  second 
wife.  We  began  to  consider  the  whole  affair  in  a 
practical  light.  If  they  made  this  girl  marry  and 
leave  us,  what  should  I  do  with  all  my  family  with- 
out, her  assistance  }  Only  one  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty presented  itself,  and  we  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  my  husband  had  better  ask  her  to  be  his  second 
wife.  As  she  also  was  ^  under  counsel,'  she  accepted 
him,  and  it  made  no  great  change  in  our  household. 
She  has  been  a  good  girl,  and  although,  of  course,  I 
feel  all  this,  I  try  to  bear  it, — but  /  hate  the  Mor- 
7no7is  r 

No  one  could  see  at  that  time  how  they  could  es- 
cape over  these  vast,  dreary  plains,  and,  therefore, 
they  had  to  submit  to  their  fate. 

It  is  a  matter  of  surprise  to  many  persons  that 
intelligent  people  can  be  influenced  by  the  Mormon 
teachers  to  this  extent.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that,  when  once  the  disciples  of  any  faith  can  be 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      10/ 

brought  to  believe  in  present  revelation,  they  think 
it  is  wicked  to  question  what  they  are  taught,  and 
they  do  not  allow  their  own  judgments  to  influence 
them  in  the  least. 

I  had  been  in  Salt  Lake  City  about  two  years, 
and  had  been  working  during  that  time  at  millinery 
in  order  to  assist  in  supporting  my  family,  when  one 
day  Brigham  Young  sent  me  word  that  he  wished  to 
see  me.  I  went  to  him,  and  he  told  me  that  there 
was  a  young  girl,  in  -whom  he  took  an  interest,  and 
he  wished  me  to  see  her.  He  said  she  "  was  not 
feeling  well,"  (which  I  discovered  afterwards  meant 
that  she  was  almost  ready  to  apostatize,)  and  he  want- 
ed me  to  have  her  with  me  every  day,  and  try  to 
make  her  "feel  well."  If  she  wished  it,  I  was  to 
teach  her  my  business  ;  if  not,  I  was  to  let  her  do 
just  what  she  pleased,  so  that  she  was  with  me  every 
day.     Her  parents,  he  stated,  were  both  dead. 

I  listened  to  all  that  President  Young  said,  and 
acepted  the  trust  in  good  faith,  for  I  was  very  unsus- 
pecting at  that  time.  I  called  upon  the  young  lady 
and  made  arrangements  with  her.  She  came  to  my 
house,  and  I  found  her  to  be  a  particularly  sweet  girl, 
but  very  unhappy  and  also  very  delicate. 

Several  of  my  friends,  who  were  old  residents  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  said  to  me,  "  Mrs.  Stenhouse,  there 
is  some  design  in  all  this.  Be  on  your  guard."  Some 
women  in  Salt  Lake  are  always  ready  with  their 
painful  advice.  In  this  instance,  however,  they  were 
not  far  from  the  truth.  I  did  not  suspect  any  thing  ; 
I  soon  formed,  however,  an  attachment  for  the  young 
girl,  as  she  did  also  for  me,  and  I  may  add — my  hus- 


I08      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

band  had  also  for  her  ;  although  I  had  no  suspicion 
of  it  then.  She  remained  with  me  many  months, 
until  her  health  became  so  poor  that  she  was  obliged 
to  stay  at  home.  During  this  time,  ladies  would  fre- 
quently tell  me  that  my  husband  visited  her  regularly, 
and  that  it  was  supposed  he  would  marry  her.  As 
may  be  supposed,  I  was  very  much  shocked  at  this 
intelligence,  and  asked  him  about  it.  He  told  me 
that  there  was  no  truth  in  what  I  had  heard,  and  I 
tried  to  believe  him.  However,  he  spent  much  less 
time  at  home  than  he  used  to  while  she  was  with 
me,  and  although  I  did  not  know  certainly  where  he 
was  when  absent,  I  felt  sure  that  he  was  engaged  in 
something  which  interested  him  very  much. 

I  may  here  mention  that  it  is  not  customary 
for  a  Mormon  wife  to  ask  her  husband  where  he  is 
going  when  he  leaves  home  in  the  evening  after 
arranging  his  toilet  very  carefully.  If  she  feels  that 
she  must  say  something  to  give  vent  to  her  over- 
wrought feelings,  it  is  simply  to  ask  him  when  he  will 
be  home ;  and  in  many  instances  to  wish  in  her 
secret  heart  that  he  might  say — "  Never  !" 

I  sometimes  am  almost  inclined  to  think  that  the 
baneful  effects  of  this  fearful  religix)n  will  not  only 
pursue  us  through  life,  but  will  also  go  with  us  to  our 
graves.  To  this  day,  although  every  thing  is  so  greatly 
changed,  and  my  husband  is  now  "  all  my  own,"  I 
cannot  entirely  forget  the  past,  and  often  I  feel  like 
a  guilty  thing  if  I  venture  to  ask  him  where  he  is 
going,  or  where  he  has  been.  The  reader  who  knows 
what  the  varied  experience  of  life  is,  will  understand 
what  I  mean,  but  which  words  fail  me  to  tell. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      IO9 

I  have  lived  a  separate  life  so  long,  hiding  my 
sorrows  in  my  own  breast,  that  now  it  has  become 
almost  impossible  to  restore  that  long-lost  confidence 
which  constitutes  the  true  pleasure  of  married  life, 
without  which  no  woman  is  really  happy.  I  cannot 
forget  the  past.  It  was  fraught  with  a  perpetual  fear 
which  my  mind  can  never  entirely  shake  off — a  fear 
which  even  now  makes  me  think  that  the  teachings 
of  that  religion  can  never  be  utterly  effaced,from  our 
hearts,  and  which  reminds  me  sadly  of  the  words 
which  the  poet  has  put  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  those 
sympathizing  angels  who  are  said  to  watch  over  the 
interests  of  mankind  : — 

**  ^'oor  race  of  men,  said  the  pitying  spirit, 
Dearly  ye  pay  for  your  primal  fall ; 
Some  traces  of  Eden  ye  still  inherit, 

But  the  trail  of  the  serpent  is  over  them  all." 

But  there  was  no  poetry  to  soothe  my  mind  in  the 
hour  of  my  trial.  There  was  no  music  then  that 
could  lull  the  storm  which  gathered  in  my  breast. 
The  only  word  which  could  then  depict  my  feelings 
was — weariness  ! — weariness  of  mind  and  body,  a 
longing  to  die,  that  I  might  be  at  rest.  If  the  reader 
never  felt  thus,  let  him  not  judge  me.  If  he  has 
known  troubles  such  as  mine,  he  will,  out  of  his  own 
experience,  sympathize  with  me. 

But  I  return  to  my  story. 

I  began  at  last  to  think,  as  some  of  my  friends  had 
told  me,  that  Brigham  Young  had  some  design  when 
he  sent  the  young  girl  to  my  house.  Possibly  he 
never  thought  of  it. 


no  WHAT   I   KNOW   ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

However,  I  saw  no  more  to  trouble  me  at  that 
time,  and  as  my  husband  persisted  in  denying  the 
truth  of  the  rumours  which  I  had  heard,  I  tried  to 
beUeve  that  they  were  false.  But  at  the  same  time,  I 
was  so  troubled  and  agitated  by  these  things  that  I 
found  it  impossible  to  make  up  my  mind  to  go  and 
see  her. 

From  this  time  my  husband  (apparently)  began  to 
feel  seriously  that  it  was  his  "  duty  to  take  another 
wife." 

Some  years  later,  when  I  had  more  experience  in 
the  ways  of  men,  I  discovered  several  never-failing 
signs  by  which  one  might  know  when  a  man  wished 
to  take  another  wife.  He  would  suddenly  awaken  to 
a  sense  of  his  duties,  and  would  have  great  fears  that 
"  the  Lord"  would  not  pardon  him  for  any  neglect. 
He  would  become  very  religious,  attend  to  his  "  meet- 
ings"— testimony  meetings — singing  meetings,  and 
various  other  meetings  !  In  fact,  he  would  show  a 
great  determination  to  leave  nothing  undone  which 
ought  to  be  done.  My  husband,  being  a  good  and 
conscientious  Mormon,  experienced  all  these  feelings. 
Of  course  he  did  ;  and  his  kind  brethren,  knowing 
just  how  he  felt,  sympathized,  urged,  and  even  aided 
him  in  his  noble  efforts  to  carry  out  the  "  commands 
of  God." 

The  young  lady  was  at  last  selected.  She  was 
very  pretty,  and  very  youthful.  The  last  qualifica- 
tion is  very  necessary  in  a  Mormon's  wife,  for  then  it 
is  expected  that  she  will  have  more  time  to  bear  chil- 
dren to  the  glory  of  the  kingdom.  It  must  not  be 
supposed  that  any  other  consideration  influences  a 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      Ill 

Mormon  mind.  O  dear !  no.  They  are  slich  very 
pure-minded  men. 

Then  commenced  the  task,  the  painful  task  of  pay- 
ing his  addresses  to  her.  It  is  a  *'  painful  task"  I  know, 
for  my  husband  told  me  it  was,  and  of  course  I,  as  a 
dutiful  wife,  believed  him.  He  seemed,  however,  to 
bear  it  remarkably  well,  and  went  at  it  with  a  zeal 
that  was  perfectly  astonishing  to  me,  who  knew,  from 
what  he  said,  how  painful  it  was  to  him. 

I  had  really  to  restrain  him  a  little  for  the  benefit 
of  his  health ;  for  when  the  duties  of  the  day  were 
over,  and  evening  came,  he  would  scarcely  take  time 
to  eat  his  supper,  so  anxious  was  he  to  continue  this 
labour  of  love. 

But  deeply  as  I  sympathized  with  my  husband  in 
the  "  painful  duty"  which  he  had  to  perform,  tjiere 
were  times  when  I  felt  that  my  real  sorrow  was 
greater  than  his  fancied  difficulties.  I  was  in  fact 
now  truly  overwhelmed  with  trouble.  It  seemed  to 
me  as  if  affliction  was  right  at  my  door.  I  would 
sometimes  almost  rave  with  anger.  Then  I  would 
pray,  then  cry.  Such  werC/the  days  and  nights  that 
I  spent,  not  once  only,  but  constantly,  and  without 
ceasing.  I  may  truly  say  that  I  never  knew  at  that 
time  what  it  was  to  smile.  I  never  knew  in  any  sense 
what  it  was  to  be  happy.  I  was  pale,  thin,  and  ner- 
vous, and  I  was  often  asked  by  my  friends,  who  only 
judged  from  appearance,  if  I  were  consumptive.  Yes, 
I  might  have  answered,  there  is  a  consuming  sorrow 
at  my  heart  that  is  gnawing  my  life  away.  There 
was  no  possibility  of  evading  my  trouble.     I  had  to 


112      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

face  it,  and  though  I  felt  that  I  had  not  courage  to 
endure  it,  yet  I  lived  ! 

I  knew  the  very  hours  that  my  husband  was  with 
her.     Mentally  I  was  myself  with  him,  and  saw  all. 

0  the  anguish  that  I  felt  in  those  times  !  No  tongue 
can  describe  it,  no  one  is  capable  of  imagining  it,  but 
a  woman  who  truly  loves  her  husband  and  has  en- 
dured the  same  anguish  as  that  which  I  then  felt. 
Had  my  husband  been  in  any  sense  a  bad  man,  I 
dare  say,  like  many  other  women,  I  would  have 
hardened  my  heart  and  have  tried  to  forget  that  I 
ever  cared  for  him.  But  this  was  not  the  case.  He 
was  a  really  good  man  in  every  respect.  I  knew  how 
fondly  he  had  once  loved  me,  and  in  my  heart  I 
believed  that  he  would  even  now  be  unchanged  but 
for  the  influence  of  his  religion,  which  he  stMl  thought 
was  "  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life." 

If  I  had  for  one  moment  supposed  what  he  did  was 
from  any  other  than  the  purest  motives,  I  should 
have  cast  his  love  from  me  ;  but  even  up  to  that  time 

1  feared,  and  almost  believed,  that  all  this  might  be 
right ;  although  I  saw  so  much  wrong  connected 
with  it. 

I  knew  very  well  that  if  it  was  the  law  of  God,  as  I 
had  been  led  to  believe  it  was,  I  must  endure  it, 
though  it  should  cost  me  my  life.  Besides  which, 
Brigham  Young  and  all  the  authorities  used  to  say 
that  it  was  "a  cross  that  we  all  had  got  to  bear,' 
though  I  used  to  think  that  the  heaviest  portion  of 
the  cross  was  put  on  woman's  shoulders.  They  have 
all  told  me  frequently  and  positively  that  there  was 
no  salvation  or  "  exaltation  in  the  heavens''  without 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      II3 

it.  The  thought  of  it  was,  nevertheless,  so  revolting 
to  me  that,  had  I  been  left  to  my  own  choice,  I  would 
rather  have  gone  to  some  other  place  than  the  kind 
of  heaven  they  spoke  of,  without  it,  than  have  gone 
to  glory  with  it.  But  I  was  a  wife,  and  had  to  con- 
sult my  husband's  interests  as  well  as  my  own.  No 
matter  how  weak  I  was  in  the  faith,  if  my  husband 
felt  condemned  by  not  practising  the  doctrine  of 
Polygamy,  it  became  my  duty  to  submit,  or  at  least  I 
thought  so. 

With  these  convictions  and  feelings,  I  would  some- 
times nerve  myself  to  the  task  of  enduring ;  but  if  I 
happened  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  girl  that  my  hus- 
band was  going  to  marry,  all  my  good  resolutions 
would  vanish  like  chaff  before  the  wind,  and  I  would 
feel  sick  and  nervous,  and  entirely  unfitted  to  attend 
to  my  duties. 

I  had  often  heard  it  said  that  the  Lord  gav^ 
strength  according  to  our  day,  but  I  certainly  felt 
that  it  was  not  true  in  my  case.  My  day  had  come, 
but  I  had  very  little  strength. 

About  this  time  my  husband  left  the  city  to  go  to 
the  Eastern  States,  and  his  marriage  was  put  off  to 
some  indefinite  period  on  account  of  the  extreme 
youthfulness  of  the  bride-elect.  I  felt  in  a  measure 
relieved  ;  for  now  they  could  not  meet,  and  I  thought 
that  it  would  be  a  good  opportunity  for  me  to  try  to 
show  her  some  attention,  which  I  felt  it  was  my  duty 
to  do.  I  thought  that  I  would  invite  her  to  my  house, 
now  that  there  was  no  danger  of  my  husband  meeting 
her,  and  I  did  so.  She  came,  and  I  had  one  or  two 
other  ladies  present,  for  I  was  not  like  my  husband  in 


114      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

this  particular — I  could  not  endure  to  be  alone  with 
her. 

I  don't  think  that  she  enjoyed  herself  very  much, 
for  I  could  not  at  this  time  take  to  her.  I  longed  for 
the  time  to  come  for  her  to  go  home,  and  when  she 
had  gone,  I  did  not  feel  very  satisfied,  but  thought 
that  I  would  try  it.  again.  I  did  so,  but  this  time  it 
was  an  entire  failure  ;  for  before  she  came,  I  had  been 
brooding  over  the  matter,  and  so  hated  the  sight  of 
her  that  I  feigned  sickness  and  kindly  asked  her  to 
go  home.  After  that,  I  gave  up  my  attempt  at  friend- 
liness as  a  bad  job,  and  thought  she  must  take  her 
chances  of  any  attention  from  me.  She  was  a  very 
nice  girl,  and  under  any  other  circumstances  I  think 
I  could  have  liked  her  very  well. 

During  my  husband's  absence,  the  young  lady  that 
I  mentioned  before  as  having  lived  with  me,  had  not 
recovered  from  her  illness,  but  was  growing  worse 
all  the  time.  She  had  been  out  of  the  city,  and  I  had 
not  seen  her  for  some  months.  She  now  sent  for 
me,  and  I  went  to  see  her  every  day  ;  for  I  saw  that 
she  was  failing  fast,  and  I  felt  assured  that  she  could 
not  live  long. 

She  told  me  that  she  had  left  my  house  because 
she  would  not  do  any  thing  to  make  me  suffer.  She 
said  that  my  husband  had  hinted  at  marriage  to  her, 
and  that  she  liked  him,  but  had  avoided  him  for  my 
sake.  This  was  an  instance  of  such  self-denial  as  I 
had  never  expected  to  find  in  Utah,  and  I  looked  on 
her  as  almost  an  angel.  I  told  her  that  my  husband 
had  denied  it,  and  she  said  that  he  did  so  to  spare  my 
feelings,  as  it  was  not  likely  to  result  in  any  thing. 


WHAT    I    KNOW   ABOUT    POLYGAxMV.  II5 

This  I  did  not  appreciate  at  all.  I  only  felt  that  I 
had  been  deceived.  But  Polygamic  Mormonism  is 
full  of  deceptions.  They  deceive  each  other,  and  are 
at  the  same  time  often  themselves  the  most  deceived. 

I  knew  well  enough  that  my  husband  was  not 
happy.  It  was  not  in  his  nature  to  have  deceived 
me ;  but  he  was  compelled  to  do  so  from  the  very 
circumstances  of  the  case ;  and,  as  I  said  before,  for 
peace'  sake.  He  knew  that  there  were  times  when  I 
was  perfectly  wild  with  despair,  and  was  reckless  of 
consequences  ;  and  I  was  prepared  to  cast  aside  my 
hope  of  salvation,  my  life,  and  every  thing,  rather 
than  endure  another  day  what  I  then  was  suffering. 

At  these  times  I  would  say  the  most  bitter  things 
that  I  could  think  of,  of  Joseph  Smith,  Brigham 
Young,  and  all  the  leading  men  of  the  church.  My 
husband  was  perfectly  awe-stricken  at  the  attacks  I 
would  make  upon  those  whom  he  then  believed  were 
the  servants  of  God.  I  know  that  there  were  times 
when  he  felt  that  it  was  the  greatest  sin  that  I  could 
commit  to  speak  thus. 

In  my  calmer  moments,  seeing  my  husband  so 
terribly  in  earnest,  and  having  confidence  in  his 
superior  judgment,  I  would  come  back  to  the  old 
feeling  that  the  wrong  was  in  myself,  and  I  would 
earnestly  pray  to  the  Lord  to  be  forgiven. 

I  do  not  think  that  I  should  ever  make  a  very  good 
saint,  for  in  all  this  that  I  have  related  there  was  one 
thing  that  consoled  me — I  felt  that  my  husband's 
intended  would  some  day  learn  that  she  was  not  his 
first  and  only  love  after  myself  I  am  almost  ashamed 
to  own  that  this  should  be  any  gratification  to  mc, 


Il6      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

but  the  young  girls  at  that  time  frequently  got  the 
idea  that  the  men  had  never  really  loved  until  they 
met  with  them.  How  far  the  men  were  to  blame  for 
this  I  do  not  know ;  but  it  is  a  fact,  and  I  have  little 
doubt  that  they  had  a  pretty  good  share  in  the  de- 
ception. 


jUKIVE 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Sacrifice  of  my  Life— I  give  another  Wife  to  my  Husband — The 
Scene  in  the  "Endowment  House" — My  Day  of  Trial — **  It  was 
all  over  now" — Bitter  Miseries  of  Polygamy — Rebellious  Thoughts 
— Retrospect  of  that  Time — ^The  first  Wife  not  alone  unhappy- 
Watchful  Eyes — A  Ludicrous  Picture — Want  of  Sympathy — Seek- 
ing another  "Jewel"  for  his  "Crown" — Enlarging  the  "King- 
dom"— "  Stolen  Waters" — Love- Letters  read  in  Secret — Reading 
the  "  Revelation"  a  Second  Time. 

I  WAS  now  expecting  soon  to  be  called  upon  to 
undergo  the  most  fearful  ordeal  that  any  woman 
can  possibly  be  required  to  pass  through — that  of  giv- 
ing my  husband  another  wife.  The  thought  of  doing 
this  was  even  worse  than  death.  It  would  have 
been  fearful  to  have  followed  my  husband  to  his 
grave ;  but  to  live  and  see  him  the  husband  of 
another  woman  seemed  to  me  like  exacting  more 
than  human  nature  was  capable  of  enduring.  With 
all  my  faith  in  Mormonism,  doubts  would  arise, 
and  in  my  bitterest  moments  of  anguish  I  would 
exclaim,  "  This  is  more  like  the  work  of  cruel  man 
than  of  God.  Why  should  man  have  this  power 
over  woman,  and  she  so  helpless  ?  Surely,  a  just  and 
impartial  God  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  this !" 
Then,  again,  I  would  come  to  the  conclusion,  as  I 
had  many  times  before,  that  "  the  ways  of  the  Lord 
are  past  finding  out,"  and,  therefore,  I  must  submit. 

As  the  time  approached  for  me  to  do  this,  I  felt 


Il8       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

like  a  condemned  felon  in  his  cell,  waiting  in  agony 
the  day  of  his  execution.  I  knew  that  my  husband 
suffered  also,  now  that  it  was  so  near  ;  for  he  neces- 
sarily saw  that  it  would  make  a  great  change  in  his 
future  life.     His  freedom  was  gone. 

The  dreaded  day  at  length  arrived.  As  may  well 
be  supposed,  I  had  passed  a  very  wakeful  and  un- 
happy night,  and  I  felt  very  sick  and  nervous  ;  for  I 
was  soon  to  become  a  mother,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
that  I  had  not  courage  to  go  through  that  day.  How- 
ever, I  nerved  myself  to  the  task,  and  silently  made 
my  preparations  for  going  to  the  "  Endowment 
House."  The  morning  was  -bright  and  lovely,  and 
calculated  to  inspire  joyous  hopes  and  happy  feel- 
ings. To  me  it  brought  nothing  but  fear  and  trem- 
bling. I  could  not  even  trust  myself  to  speak  to  my 
children,  for  I  was  choking  with  suppressed  emotion  ; 
and  they,  not  knowing  how  deeply  I  was  suffering, 
looked  at  me  with  wonder  in  their  innocent  eyes. 
"  Oh !"  I  thought,  "  surely  my  husband  will  at  last 
understand  the  depth  of  the  love  I  bear  him  ;  for, 
were  it  not  that  he  believes  the  doctrine  to  be  true,  I 
would  even  now  dash  this  bitter  cup  from  my  lips  !" 
There  was  a  darkness  before  my  eyes,  and,  struggle 
as  I  might,  I  could  see  no  ray  of  light,  no  glimmering 
of  hope.  I  was  utterly  cast  down  and  broken-hearted, 
and  felt  almost  as  if  the  Lord  had  forsaken  me.  I 
could  not  go  to  my  husband  for  sympathy ;  for  I  felt 
that  his  thoughts  were  with  his  young  bride,  and  that 
my  sorrows  would  only  worry  him  at  a  time  when  he 
must  desire  to  be  at  peace. 

The  time  at  length  arrived  for  us  to   go  to   the 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      I  1 9 

"  Endowment  House,"  and  there  at  the  altar  the  first 
wife  is  expected  to  give  proof  of  her  faith  in  her  reli- 
gion by  placing  the  hand  of  the  new  wife  in  that  of 
her  husband.  She  is  asked  the  question  by  Brigham 
Young,  "  Are  you  willing  to  give  this  woman  to  your 
husband,  to  be  his  lawful  and  wedded  wife,  for  time 
and  for  all  eternity  ?  If  you  are,  you  will  manifest  it 
by  placing  her  right  hand  within  the  right  hand  of 
your  husband."  I  did  so.  But  what  words  can  de- 
scribe my  feelings  ?  The  anguish  of  a  whole  lifetime 
was  crowded  into  that  one  single  moment.  When  it 
was  done,  I  felt  that  I  had  laid  every  thing  upon  the 
altar,  and  that  there  was  no  more  to  sacrifice.  I  had 
given  away  my  husband.  What  more  could  the  Lord 
require  of  me  that  I  could  not  do  .?     Nothing  ! 

I  was  bewildered  and  almost  beside  myself,  and  yet 
I  had  to  hide  my  feelings  ;  for  to  whom  should  I  turn 
for  sympathy  among  those  who  were  around  me  ?  My 
husband  was  there,  it  is  true ;  but  he  was  now  the 
husband  of  another  woman,  and  a  newly-made  bride- 
groom. I  felt  that  I  stood  alone,  our  union  was  severed. 
I  had  given  away  my  husband,  and  he  no  longer  be- 
longed only  to  me  !  The  thought  was  madness.  I 
could  not  think  it  possible  that  there  ever  could  be 
any  copartnership  between  that  other  wife  and  my- 
self. From  that  day,  I  began  to  hide  all  my  sorrows 
from  my  husband  ;  and  it  was  only  when  I  was  com- 
pelled, as  I  might  say,  to  give  vent  to  my  highly- 
wrought  feelings,  that  I  ever  uttered  a  word  of  dis- 
content. Then,  when  I  spoke  or  expressed  what  I 
felt,  it  was  in  anger  ;  but  never  in  sorrow,  seeking 
sympathy. 


120      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

I  remember  well  that  when  I  returned  home — that 
"  home"  which  was  now  to  become  hateful  to  me,  for 
his  young  wife  was  to  live  there — my  husband  said 
to  me,  "  You  have  been  very  brave  ;  but  it  is  not  so 
hard  to  do,  after  all,  is  it?"  He  had  seen  me  bear  it 
so  well,  that  he  even  supposed  I  was  indifferent.  So 
much  for  the  penetration  of  men  ! 

During  the  remainder  of  that  day,  how  I  watched 
their  looks  and  noted  their  every  word.  To  me,  their 
tender  tones  were  like  daggers,  piercing  me  to  the 
heart.  One  moment  I  yearned  for  my  husband's  un- 
divided love  ;  the  next  moment  I  hated  even  the  very 
sight  of  him,  -and  vowed  that  he  never  again  should 
have  a  place  in  my  heart.  Then  I  would  feel  that 
there  was  no  justice  in  heaven,  or  this  great  sorrow 
would  not  have  come  upon  me. 

Why  did  the  Lord  implant  this  love  in  my  nature  } 
If  it  is  wrong,  He  could  have  created  me  without  it. 
Or  was  it  for  the  pleasure  of  torturing  His  daughters 
that  this  was  done  }  I  could  not  but  feel  that  the 
Lord  whom  I  served  was  partial ;  for  He  allowed  His 
sons  to  indulge  in  their  love,  while  His  daughters,  who 
by  man  are  considered  the  weaker  vessels,  were  ex- 
pected to  be  strong  enough  to  crush  out  from  their 
natures  all  love  and  all  weakness. 

I  felt  that  day  that  if  I  could  not  soon  get  away  by 
myself,  in  privacy,  and  give  vent  to  my  overcharged 
feelings,  I  should  certainly  go  mad. 

It  was  only  in  the  dead  of  night,  in  my  own  cham- 
ber, that  I  gave  way  to  the  terrible  anguish  that  was 
consuming  me.  God  and  my  own  soul  can  alone 
bear  witness  to  that  time  of  woe.    That  night  was  to 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      121 

me  such  that  even  the  most  God-forsaken  might 
pray  never  to  know  ;  and  morning  dawned  without 
my  having  for  a  moment  closed  my  eyes. 

It  was  all  over  now.  Nothing  remained  but  for 
me  to  face  the  fearful  reality  day  after  day  and  hour 
after  hour.  I  do  indeed  believe  that  a  man,  if  he 
could  have  felt  as  I  did  then,  would  have  sunk  be- 
neath the  trial  Who  but  a  woman  could  endure  such 
things  and  yet  live  ."* 

I  had  been  married  then  about  fifteen  years. 

When  I  look  back  to  those  days,  I  feel  that  all 
ill-feeling,  all  those  manifold  causes  of  sorrow,  have 
fully  died  away  ;  for  the  cause  is  now  removed.  I  can 
now  afford  to  think  as  kindly  of  the  second  as  well  as 
of  the  first  wife  ;  for  those  young  women  who  marry 
into  Polygamy  very  often — in  fact,  I  may  say,  gene- 
rally— do  so  from  a  sincere  belief  that  it  is  their 
duty  ;  and  I  know  that  they  also  have  their  trials. 
What  can  they  know  of  happiness — real  happiness  } 
If  they  are  sensitive,  intelligent  girls,  they  must  feel 
almost  as  intruders  in  the  home  of  another  woman, 
never  daring  to  show  their  affection  for  their  hus- 
bands, and  knowing  as  they  do  that  keen  eyes  arc 
always  watching  them. 

If  their  sorrow  is  even  less  than  that  of  the  first 
wife,  they  certainly  can  know  no  joy.  And  if  the 
husband  has  the  whole  of  his  family  in  one  house,  as 
is  often  the  case,  where  is  his  happiness  }  One 
might  truly  say  that  then  he  is  nothing  but  a  slave  in 
the  midst  of  his  slaves — his  own  wives.  This  can  be 
readily  understood.  His  every  look  and  action  will 
be  closely  watched  and   criticised.      If  he  should 


122      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

chance  to  give  a  new  dress  to  one,  he  must  also  give 
a  dress  to  the  other,  no  matter  whether  she  needs  it 
or  not.  Every  thing  is  noticed.  Nothing  is  over- 
looked. When  a  woman's  heart  is  anxious,  her  eye 
is  never  weary. 

This  state  of  affairs,  painful  as  it  must  be  to  all 
who  are  themselves  personally  interested  in  such 
things,  not  infrequently  presents  a  ludicrous  picture 
to  those  who  are  only  lookers-on.  In  fact,  sometimes 
these  things  are  even  grotesque  in  their  results.  I 
have  more  than  once  seen  sights  of  this  kind  which 
were  most  laughably  ridiculous.  Let  the  reader 
imagine  a  very  old  wife,  and  a  very  young  one, 
dressed  alike  !  Yet  this  is  not  infrequently  the  case. 
The  poor  old  lady  sometimes  thinks  that  if  she  can 
only  make  herself  look  a  little  juvenile  she  will  be 
quite  as  attractive  to  her  husband  as  his  young  wife  is. 
All  women  would  prefer  to  be  young  ;  but  women  in 
Utah  have  a  perfect  dread  of  growing  old,  for  they  do 
not  like  the  idea  of  being  set  aside  to  make  room  for 
younger  ones,  which  is  very  often  their  fate.  In  fact, 
this  is  so  common,  that  it  is  seen  daily. 

I  had  lived  in  Polygamy  for  about  three  years,  and 
nearly  one  year  of  that  time  it  was  brought  home  to 
me  most  painfully,  for  it  was  right  before  my  eyes, 
under  my  own  roof,  day  after  day.  To  attempt  to  de- 
scribe to  the  reader  the  contending  feelings  that  con- 
tinually and  without  ceasing  tortured  my  very  soul, 
would  be  impossible.  In  my  struggles  to  hide  them  I 
thought  they  would  send  me  mad.  I  felt  that  it  re- 
quired more  courage  to  live  than  to  die,  but  the 
thought   of  my  little  ones   restrained   me  ;    and   I 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 23 

thought  that,  although  my  life  seemed  so  utterly 
worthless  to  me,  it  was  of  the  utmost  value  to  them, 
and  to  them  it  should  be  devoted.  I  would  not  die. 
1  would  live  for  their  sake. 

All  this  time  my  husband  was  kind  to  me.  What 
would  it  have  been  had  he  been  otherwise  ?  But 
this  perpetual  conflict  of  feelings  unfitted  me  for  my 
duties.  Even  the  prattle  of  my  children,  which  had 
always  been  as  music  to  my  ear,  was  now  almost  a 
discordant  sound.  Their  little  questionings,  too, 
were  irksome  ;  for  I  wanted  to  be  alone.  I  had  no 
sympathy  ;  for  there  was  none  that  knew  of  all  these 
sorrows  and  trials,  or  who  could  feel  with  me  in  my 
affliction  ;  no,  not  one.  Besides,  whom  could  I  tell 
them  to  if  not  to  my  husband  ;  and  I  certainly  could 
not  tell  him  fioza.  Then,  too,  what  good  would  it  do 
me  to  tell  him  of  my  grief.'*  The  thing  was  done, 
and  I  must  endure  it ;  or,  as  I  have  heard  some  men 
say  to  their  wives,  "  You  must  round  up  your  shoul- 
ders and  bear  it  ;  it  is  as  much  your  duty  as  mine." 
Besides,  I  thought,  how  do  I  know  but  what  he  may 
tell  his  other  wife  of  my  feelings  }  and  that  would  be 
too  great  a  humiliation  for  me,  should  she  think  that 
I  am  jealous. 

I  am  not  naturally  a  jealous  woman.  But,  I  con- 
lend  that  where  there  is  no  jealousy  there  is  very 
little  love  ;  and,  in  the  trying  situation  in  which  Mor- 
mon women  arc  placed,  they  must  be  more  than  hu- 
man not  to  feel  it.  Besides,  I  did  not  think  that 
what  I  felt  was  jealousy.  Even  if  it  was  so,  it  was 
mingled  with  feelings  of  indignation  and  humilia- 
tion. 


124      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

I  was  indeed  indignant  at  seeing  another  woman 
under  my  roof,  bearing  my  husband's  name,  and 
treated  as  his  wife.  Oh !  this  seemed  sometimes 
really  more  than  I  could  endure.  I  was  ready  to 
say,  She  is  not  his  wife  !  dare  to  call  her  by  his 
name  !  Then  I  would  feel  humiliation  at  the  posi- 
tion which  I  occupied,  when  I  fully  realized  it  in  all 
its  bearings. 

If  any  one  had  then  told  my  husband  that  those 
were  my  feelings,  he  would  not  have  believed  it ;  for 
when  we  had  assembled  in  our  little  parlour  of  an 
evening,  (men  generally  spend  their  evenings  at 
home  after  taking  a  new  wife,  at  least  for  a  while,)  I 
would  so  far  have  subdued  my  feelings  as  at  least  to 
be  calm,  if  not  entertaining.  But  how  I  watched 
their  looks  !  how  I  weighed  every  word,  and  ofteni 
put  a  meaning  to  many  things  where  there  proba- 
bly was  none. 

My  husband  would  frequently  say  to  me,  "  You  do 
not  feel  bad  now,  do  you  ?  You  have  got  used  to  it." 
I  am  proud  to  say,  Iitever  got  used  to  it. 

I  had  lived  in  Polygamy  about  three  years  when 
Mr.  S.  thought  it  was  about  time  that  he  should  add 
another  jewel  to  his  crown.  I  raised  no  objection  to 
this  ;  for  I  felt  that  he  might  just  as  well  have  twenty 
more  as  the  one  already  too  many,  particularly  as  we 
had  been  taught  to  believe,  the  more  wives  the  more 
glory.  He  told  me  who  the  favoured  damsel  was, 
and  I  had  no  objection  to  her.  The  only  promise  I 
tried  to  exact  from  him  was  that  there  should  be  no 
long  courtship.  This  he  did  not  object  to.  But  I  was 
doomed  to  be  disappointed,  although  there  seemed 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 2$ 

to  be  no  obstacle  in  the  way  this  time  ;  for  her  mother 
declared  to  me  soon  after  that  "  no  man  had  ever 
moved  her  daughter's  heart  to  love"  but  my  hus- 
band ;  "  he  was  her  first  and  only  love" — pleasant 
communication  to  make  to  a  wife !  Her  daughter 
confirmed  this  ;  and  I  myself  had  little  doubt  that 
she  spoke  the  truth,  when  I  saw  letters  constantly 
coming  to  my  house,  brought  by  persons  who  I 
knew  came  from  her,  and  I  perceived  how  much  care 
was  taken  that  they  should  not  fall  into  my  hands. 
It  had  always  been  represented  to  me,  as  to  every 
woman,  that  I  was  a  partner  in  the  affair,  and  I 
thought  that  it  was  nothing  but  right  and  just  that  I 
should  see  and  understand  for  myself  how  the  court- 
ship was  progressing.  I  did  not  wish  to  be  guilty 
of  any  thing  that  was  mean  ;  but  as  my  partner  in 
the  business  did  not  seem  inclined  to  show  me  those 
letters,  I  thought  that  I  would  just  take  a  glance  at 
them  without  leave.  Accordingly,  while  he  was  sweet- 
ly and  unconsciously  slumbering,  night  after  night  I 
extracted  those  charming  epistles  from  his  pocket. 
When  I  opened  them,  I  found  that  one  glance  at 
them  only  gave  me  a  taste  for  more,  and  I  was  not 
satisfied  till  I  had  read  them  through.  I  do  not 
wish  to  justify  myself  for  acting  thus.  But  let  the 
reader  remember  what  cause  of  provocation  I  had, 
and  how  desperate  I  felt,  before  he  too  hastily  judges 
me  or  condemns  what  I  did. 

To  my  great  astonishment,  I  found  from  those 
midnight  readings  that  the  affair  had  progressed  far 
beyond  my  utmost  anticipations,  and  when  I  saw  the 
intensity  of  the  love  depicted  in  those  letters,  I  be- 


126      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

gan  to  think  that  /  had  before  known  nothing  about 
that  tender  sentiment. 

The  young  lady  became  most  terribly  exacting 
during  fifteen  long  and  dreary  months,  so  fraught 
with  misery  to  me  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  tell 
truly  a  thousandth  part  of  what  I  felt.  Even  the  re- 
collection of  those  times  I  wish  to  banish.  What  I 
endured  through  this  love  affair  was  simply  what 
many  a  woman  has  had  to  pass  through  before  me  in 
Utah,  but  which  I  ihQn^rm/y  reso/ved 1 7iever  would 
endure  again.  I  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  if 
the  Lord  would  not  give  me  "  salvation"  without 
that,  I  would  do  without  it.  I  had  striven  hard  to  do 
His  will  ;  but  I  had  failed  in  every  single  instance  to 
see,  in  what  I  was  called  upon  to  suffer,  any  indica- 
tion of  a  God  of  justice.  "  How,"  said  I,  "could  the 
humiliation,  abasement,  and  misery  of  thousands  of 
women  contribute  to  the  glory  of  God  V 

I  now  determined  that  I  would  satisfy  myself  con- 
cerning the  true  origin  of  Mormonism,  and  of  that 
extraordinary  "  revelation"  which  first  established 
Polygamy. 

I  had  through  all  these  years  seen  many,  many 
things  that,  even  after  making  every  allowance,  and 
taking  them  at  their  best,  I  knew  were  wrong.  At 
least  they  appeared  so  to  me,  and,  according  to  my 
views,  the  teachings  of  the  church  abounded  with  in- 
consistencies which  considerably  weakened  my  con- 
fidence in  its  authority. 

I  procured  a  copy  of  "  The  Revelation  on  Mar- 
riage," and  read  it  carefully  and  calmly.  I  had  not 
seen  it  since  I  had  partially  read  it  in  Switzerland 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      12/ 

seventeen  years  before.  Then  I  bad  cast  it  aside  in 
grief,  with  disgust  and  indignation.  But  I  now  pe- 
rused it  with  anxious  care,  desiring  only  to  learn  the 
truth.  I  saw  plainly  from  its  own  wording  that  if 
ever  it  had  been  given  to  Joseph  Smith,  no  matter 
by  whom,  it  was  given  after  he  had  practiced  Polyga- 
my, or  something  worse,  and  to  sanction  what  he  had 
done.  I  began  to  make  careful  inquiry  into  all  these 
things  ;  and  I  found  that  evidence  was  not  wanting 
to  prove,  at  least  to  me,  that  this  doctrine  of  plural 
marriages  was  7wt  of  divine  origin. 

To  doubt  one  doctrine  was  to  begin  to  doubt  all, 
and  I  soon  felt  that  my  religion  was  rapidly  crum- 
bling away  before  my  eyes,  and  that  I  was  losing  con- 
fidence in  every  thing  and  every  body.  I  was  like  a 
ship  at  sea-  without  a  compass,  not  knowing  where 
to  go  or  what  to  do. 

At  that  moment,  I  believe  I  would  sooner  have 
proved  my  religion  true  than  false,  much  as  it  had 
caused  me  to  suffer.  But  the  more  I  tried  to  prove 
it  true,  the  more  I  proved  it  false  ;  until  in  disgust  I 
gave  up  the  idea  of  solving  my  difficulties,  resolving 
that  I  would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the  mat- 
ter. I  had  noticed,  for  some  time  past,  with  no  small 
degree  of  pleasure,  that  my  husband's  faith  in  the  di- 
vine mission  of  Brigham  Young  was  shaken.  He  • 
would  not  confess  as  much  to  me  ;  but  the  way  I  dis- 
covered it  was  very  simple.  My  ears  were  opened, 
and  my  eyes  were  ever  watchfully  bent  upon  him, 
and  I  observed  that  in  his  prayers  with  his  family 
when  he  would  ask  that  Brigham  Young  might  have 
the  Spirit  of  God  to  enable  him  to  judge  justly  of  the 


128      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

actions  of  his  brethren,  and  that  he  might  compre- 
hend the  situation  of  the  people,  I  thought  I  detected 
in  his  peculiar  earnestness  a  foreshadowing  of  doubt 
creeping  over  him,  and  I  rejoiced  to  think  that  at 
last  there  was  a  probability  that  he  would  yet  use  his 
own  brains  and  experience,  upon  which  I  placed 
great  reliance,  and  be  no  longer  a  slave  to  others. 


ta 


CHAPTER   XV. 

Trouble  with  the  Church — Implicit  Obedience  demanded — Confidence 
in  the  Church  Authorities  declining — Clinging  to  Faith — Attempts 
to  suppress  Doubts — How  Inquiry  was  suggested — Brigham  angry 
— "A  Prophet  might  be  mistaken" — Day  dawning  at  last — '*  Obey- 
ing Counsel,"  and  what  it  cost — An  Article  on  "Progress" — A 
Scene — We  withdraw  from  the  Church — A  brutal  and  scandalous 
Outrage  upon  my  Husband  and  myself — Strange  Police! — Without 
Redress — Popular  Anger — Private  Sympathy. 

Mr.  Stenhouse  had  been  a  member  of  the  church 
since  1845.  He  had,  to  the  very  best  of  his  ability, 
lectured,  preached,  written,  and  published  in  Great 
Britain,  and  various  parts  of  the  Continent,  as  well 
as  in  the  United  States,  in  support  of  the  Mormon 
faith.  He  was  a  most  earnest  advocate  of  Mormon- 
ism,  laying  aside  his  own  interests,  and  those  of  his 
family,  all  the  time. 

Personally,  he  was  devotedly  attached  to  Brigham 
Young  for  many  years.  While  the  members  of  the 
church  have  unshaken  confidence  in  the  faith  of  the 
new  revelation,  they  very  naturally  acquire  a  regard 
for  the  Prophet,  and  render  him  unquestioning  obe- 
dience. When  Brigham  spoke,  he  was  ready  to 
obey  ;  and  at  any  time  during  twenty  years  he  would 
joyfully  have  given  up  his  own  life  to  save  the  life  of 
the  Prophet,  had  it  been  endangered.  Whatever  he 
might  have  seen  or  heard  of  Brigham's  disregard  of 
the  rights  of  the  working  poor,  and  his  ridiculous 


130      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

counsellings  and  teachings  to  the  brethren  on  busi- 
ness affairs,  he  was  ready  to  excuse  it  all,  on  the  plea 
that  "  Brigham  was  the  servant  of  the  Lord,"  and, 
therefore,  knew  more  than  all  the  rest,  and  doubtless 
had  inspiration  to  direct  him  in  all  that  he  did. 

While  he  was  in  this  condition  of  mind,  I  was  al- 
most without  hope  that  the  change  I  had  so  long 
desired  would  ever  come.  When  I  would  bring  be- 
fore him  things  which  I  frequently  heard  of  Brigham, 
and  his  oppression  of  any  one,  he  would  answer  me 
that  I  could  not  righteously  judge  ;  for  I  only  par- 
tially knew  the  facts,  and  that  if  I  knew  more,  I 
would  probably  think  otherwise.  This  was  his  an- 
swer to  everything;  and  probably  many  women  in 
Utah  have  had  something  like  this  experience  with 
husbands  devoted  to  the  Prophet's  interests  and 
reputation.  He  was  not,  however,  so  satisfied  with 
every  thing  as  his  answers  indicated.  From  the 
conversations  that  I  listened  to  between  him  and 
influential  men  in  the  church,  I  clearly  saw  that 
many  of  the  most  devoted  brethren  around  Brigham 
did  not  approve  of  much  that  he  said  and  did  ;  but 
their  observations  were  always  tempered  with  a  fear 
of  "  meddling  with  the  servant  of  the  Lord."  There 
is,  indeed,  a  dread  in  the  soul  of  every  good  Mormon 
of  entertaining  any  doubts  about  their  leaders,  or 
criticising  in  any  way  whatever  they  might  think 
proper  to  do  or  say. 

Brigham  Young,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  says,  "  In 
the  days  of  yoseph,  the  first  thing  manifested  in  the 
case  of  apostasy  zvas  the  idea  that  yoseph  was  liable 
to  be  mistaken  ;  and  when  a  man  admits  that  in  his 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      I3I 

feelings t  and  sets  it  down  as  a  fact ^  it  is  a  step  toward 
apostasy  ;  and  he  only  needs  to  take  one  step  more,  and 
he  is  cut  off^ from  the  chnrch."  It  is  this  kind  of 
teaching  that  binds  every  man  in  Mormonism.  I 
was,  fortunately,  not  a  man  ;  and  as  women  will 
sometimes  persist  in  thinking  for  themselves,  I  kept 
on  thinking  and  admitting  that  Joseph  Smith  was 
liable  to  be  mistaken,  and  that  Brigham  Young  even 
excelled  him  in  this  particular.  In  fact,  he  was  not 
only  "  liable,"  but  I  knew  that  he  had  been  mistaken 
many  times.  My  thinking  very  often  seriously  trou- 
bled Mr.  S. 

The  frequent  visits  we  had  from  strangers  passing 
through  Salt  Lake  City,  and  Mr.  S.'s  own  frequent 
travels  in  the  States,  contributed  much  to  undermine 
his  confidence  in  the  teachings  of  the  church.  In 
their  isolation,  and  the  infrequency  with  which  the 
Saints  had  any  intercourse  with  others  than  them- 
selves, it  afforded  the  teachers  an  opportunity  to 
represent  the  Gentiles  in  the  worst  possible  manner ; 
and  in  harmony  with  their  faith,  they  believed  the 
world  was  corrupt,  and  fit  only  to  be  destroyed. 
When  visitors  had  retired  from  our  house,  the  re- 
mark would  frequently  be  made,  "  What  a  pity  these 
persons  are  not  in  the  church  !"  Instinctively  there 
would  follow  that  expression,  the  suggestion  that 
surely  they  would  not  be  damned  because  they  did 
not  accept  the  mission  of  Joseph  Smith,  the  founder 
of  Mormonism.  The  more  we  had  of  that  inter- 
course, the  less  confidence  we  had  in  the  Tabernacle 
faith.  The  malignant  and  abusive  language,  too,  so 
frequently  used  in  the  sermons,  was  a  puzzle  that  did 


132      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

not  tend  to  confirm  confidence.  It  seemed  that  the 
inspiration  of  "  the  Lord"  was  continually  at  war 
with  good  sense  and  experience.  The  more  we  knew 
of  Christian  institutions,  and  of  persons  outside  of 
the  Mormon  Church,  the  less  we  believed  in  the 
priesthood's  declarations  of  damnation,  and  there  was 
a  gradual  returning  to  reason.  The  Mormon  leaders 
had  always  counselled  the  people  to  avoid  intercouse 
with  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  and  in  that  they  were 
right,  for  there  are  few  persons  who  have  much  inter- 
course and  acquaintance  with  the  world,  who  are 
strong  in  the  Mormon  faith.  With  a  better  know- 
ledge of  mankind,  the  less  they  believe  in  the  revela- 
tions of  Joseph  Smith,  and  of  the  world  coming  to  an 
end  within  the  next  twenty  years.  If  they  grow  at 
all,  they  outgrow  the  Mormon  faith. 

How  I  prayed  in  secret  that  Brigham  would  some 
day  attack  Mr.  S. !  and  how  glad  was  my  heart  when 
that  time  came ! 

^  Brigham  had  been  to  the  country  for  a  few  days, 
and  during  his  absence  some  contention  had  arisen 
among  the  brethren  at  an  election,  which  dreadfully 
annoyed  him.  On  the  morning  after  his  return  to 
the  city,  the  police  reported  to  him  that  the  Gentiles 
were  mingling  freely  with  the  Mormon  girls,  and 
skating  on  the  same  ice,  on  the  Hot  Spring  Lake, 
north  of  the  city.  He  was  furious,  and  was  "  mad  " 
with  every  thing  and  every  body. 

Mr.  S.  called  upon  him,  and  without  perceiving  his 
sweet  temper,  introduced  some  newspaper  business 
on  the  very  subject  that  had  made  the  Prophet  an- 
gry.    Brigham  accused  him  of  publishing  a  favoura- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 33 

ble  notice  in  his  paper  of  (to  him)  a  very  objectiona- 
ble Gentile  store  ;  and  added  to  that  personal  charges 
about  matters  that  had  been  published  in  his  paper 
during  Mr.  S.'s  absence  in  the  Eastern  States.  Mr. 
S.  angrily  replied  to  him  that  what  was  personal  to 
him  "  was  not  true  ;"  and  as  Brigham  was  on  the  eve 
of  leaving,  he  asked  for  a  conference  with  him  in  the 
evening, 

'•  After  all  these  years  of  labour  and  devotion,"  said 
Mr.  S.  to  me  in  the  afternoon,  "  for  Brigham  Young 
to  speak  to  me  and  of  me  with  such  bitterness,  with- 
out a  particle  of  foundation !  where  was  his  divine 
inspiration  .^"  He  suddenly  checked  himself;  but 
the  truth  was  out,  and  I  saw  he  had  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  indeed  "  a  prophet  might  be  mistaken" 
in  ordinary  matters  of  life. 

When  he  returned  home  in  the  evening,  he  told 
me  that  Brigham  had  received  him  very  kindly,  and 
had  apologized,  in  his  way,  for  the  morning  scene. 
The  reconciliation  made  no  change  in  my  mind ;  for 
I  knew  that,  however  frankly  Mr.  S.  would  forgive 
Brigham,  there  was  too  much  of  the  Scotchman  in 
his  nature  to  allow  him  ever  to  forget  it.  But  to  get 
him  to  avow  that  Brigham  was  simply  human,  was  a 
great  step  in  the  direction  of  future  freedom. 

One  circumstance  followed  another,  and  I  saw 
growing  upon  Mr.  S.  a  disposition  to  listen  to  and 
weigh  what  he  heard  ;  and  at  the  same  time  his 
confidence  in  divine  inspiration  began  to  dwindle 
gently  away.  I  was  contented,  and  believed  that  the 
day  which  I  had  long  looked  for  was  dawning  at  last. 

The  strength  of  Mormonism  consists  in  the  "  blind 


134      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

obedience"  of  its  disciples.  Let  them  once  question 
what  they  hear  from  the  Prophet,  and  they  are  gone  ! 
The  quotation  I  have  already  given  from  Brigham's 
sermon  illustrates  this.  He  knew  what  he  spoke. 
Instead  of  rebelling  against  Polygamy,  had  I  only 
read  the  revelation  carefully,  and  doubted  its  divine 
origin,  I  would  have  been  saved  a  life  of  misery.  It 
was  only  when  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Joseph 
Smith  never  had  this  revelation /r^;;/  God  iha.t  I  was 
delivered  from  my  former  faith,  and  became  once 
more  happy. 

When  I  saw  Mr.  S.  looking  upon  Brigham  Young 
and  his  teachings  and  actions  as  he  looked  upon 
other  men,  I  knew  instinctively  that  he  would  finally 
conclude  that  Brigham  was  not  only  fallible,  but  even 
very  liable  to  make  mistakes. 

Mr.  S.  had  been  so  long  engaged  in  the  defence  of 
Mormonism,  that  it  was  deeply  grounded  in  him. 
Its  teachings  and  observances  seemed  to  him  beyond 
a  doubt,  and  were  strongly  riveted  in  his  mind.  Its 
weak  and  doubtful  points  fled  before  his  faith.  When 
I  heard  him  with  others  bringing  up  some  of  the 
questionable  teachings  of  the  church,  criticising 
Brigham's  "  counsellings,"  and  doubting  some  of  his 
measures,  and  speaking  of  him  as  they  would  of  any 
other  of  the  brethren,  I  was  satisfied  that  he  could 
not  long  remain  such  as  he  once  had  been. 

Long  years  of  submission,  and  the  receiving,  with- 
out question,  a  prophet's  teaching  as  divine  inspira- 
tion, necessarily  benumbs  the  soul  and  withers  its 
life,  till  unconsciously  the  victim  becomes  an  abject 
slave — a  mere  automaton. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 35 

With  Mr.  S.,  Mormonism  had  been  every  thing  for 
a  score  of  years  and  more.  It  had  grown  with  his 
years,  until  it  had  become  a  part  of  himself.  A  tri- 
fling incident  might  possibly  awaken  doubts,  but  it 
required  time  to  effect  a  perfect  change. 

The  measures  adopted  by  Brigham  in  the  spring 
of  1869,  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  the  commerce 
of  Utah,  as  well  as  the  faith  of  the  people,  caused 
great  discontent.  The  teachings  of  the  Tabernacle 
were  wild  and  arrogant ;  Brigham  assuming  that  it 
was  his  right  to  dictate  in  every  thing,  "  even  to  the 
setting  up  of  a  stocking,"  (so  he  said,)  or  "  to  the 
ribbons  that  a  woman  should  wear."  What  Brigham 
said,  and  the  fanaticism  that  it  created,  aroused  many 
of  the  people  to  opposition,  and  the  more  he  observed 
the  signs  of  the  opposition,  the  more  fierce  he  be- 
came in  his  denunciations,  and  harsh  in  his  mea- 
sures. 

One  Sunday  evening,  which  I  shall  never  forget, 
my  husband  came  home  and  said  to  me,  "  President 
Young  wants  me  to  move  the  Telegraph','  (a  daily 
paper,  of  which  Mr.  S.  was  editor  and  proprietor,) 
"  to  Ogden." 

With  the  vividness  of  lightning,  a  glimpse  of  what 
was  in  store  for  us  flashed  across  my  mind,  and  I 
exclaimed, 

"  What  is  that  you  say  V' 

He  repeated, "  President  Young  wants  me  to  go  to 
Ogden.'; 

"  With  the  Telegraph  .?"  I  inquired. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied. 

"  Does  he  mean,"  I  asked,  "  that  you  should  leave 


1.36      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

ail  you  have  accomplished  during  these  past  years  of 
labour,  and  begin  again  at  Ogden  ?" 

"  He  does/*  answered  Mr.  S. 

"  Surely,  you  must  be  deceived,"  I  suggested. 

"  No,"  he  replied,  "  I  am  not  deceived." 

"  But  who  has  told  you  this  i*"  I  asked. 

"  One  of  the  Apostles,"  said  he. 

"  But,"  I  questioned,  "  will  you  go  .?" 

"  What  can  I  do  T  he  replied. 

"  Do  !"  I  exclaimed  ;  "  why,  I  would  tell  him  at 
once  that  I  would  not  go." 

"  Then,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  be  charged  with  rebel- 
lion." 

"  But,"  I  responded,  "  will  you  quietly  and  submis- 
sively lose  the  business  that  you  have  created  by 
these  years  of  struggle,  without  telling  him  what  you 

think  r 

"  If  I  object  to  go,"  he  replied,  "  Brigham  will 
charge  me  with  want  of  faith  in  the  Lord,  and  I 
may  as  well  close  up  my  business  and  leave  the 
church." 

"  But  surely,"  I  questioned,  "  you  will  not  yield  to 
this  despotism  ?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  said  ;  "  I  do  not  see  very  clear- 
ly yet,  but  I  shall  know  better  after  he  has  spoken  to 
me." 

That  night,  little  as  I  then  thought  it,  and  little  as 
I  then  guessed  what  it  would  cost  us,  was  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  day  of  liberty  to  me. 

The  following  evening,  my  husband  came  home 
very  sorrowful.  I  knew  at  once  that  he  was  unhap- 
py ;  and  the  more  he  tried  to  conceal  his  trouble,  the 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 3/ 

more  I  observed  the  depression  under  which  he  was 
labouring. 

"  Have  you  seen  the  President  ?"  I  inquired. 

"  Yes,  I  have,"  he  briefly  replied. 

"  And  are  you  going  to  Ogden  ?"  I  said. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  I  am  going." 

"  You  are  !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  What  can  I  do  else  T  he  asked. 

"  Do  !"  said  I ;  "  why,  do  what  your  own  experience 
dictates." 

"  You  speak,"  said  he,  "  like  a  woman." 

"  And  I  am  a  woman,"  I  replied,  with  warmth  ; 
"  but  if  you  submit  to  this,  you  are  only  a  slave  1" 

"  Oh  !  be  quiet,"  he  said  ;  "  let  me  at  least  have  a 
little  peace  here." 

In  the  face  of  the  most  certain  ruin,  and  with  the 
urgent  remonstrances  of  his  best  friends  ringing  in 
his  ears,  Mr.  Stenhouse  yielded  to  Brigham's  order 
to  "  pull  up  the  Telegraph,  root  and  branch,  and  go 
to  Ogden." 

As  soon  as  my  husband  told  me  that  he  had  been 
told  to  "  pull  up  the  Telegraphy  root  and  branch,  and 
go,"  I  knew  what  that  meant.  It  was  like  going 
into  a  desert  and  giving  up  all,  simply  to  prove  faith 
and  obedience. 

"  But  surely,  after  all,  you  will  not  go?" 

He  replied,  "  I  have  always  obeyed  *  counsel/  and 
I  am  not  prepared  now  to  disobey  it.  What  can  I 
do  ?     I  must  go." 

"  Well,"  I  answered,  "  you  must  do  as  you  think 
best ;  but  if  you  would  take  my  advice,  you  would 
tell  Brigham  Young  plainly  that  you  would  not  go. 


138      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

Tell  him  that  you  are  the  best  judge  of  your  own 
affairs,  and  that  you  can  see  clearly  how  obeying  his 
instructions  will  bring  ruin  to  your  family." 

I  felt  that  this  would  certainly  be  the  case.  I  had 
always  had  a  thorough  contempt  for  what  was  called 
"  asking  counsel,"  although  occasionally  I  had  been 
obliged  to  submit  to  it.  I  really  could  not  understand 
why  people  should  have  brains  at  all  if  they  were  not 
to  use  them  ;  and  I  am  sure  I  utterly  failed  to  see  the 
superiority  of  those  who  set  themselves  up  as  "  coun- 
sellors" to  the  men  whom  they  attempted  to  "coun- 
sel." Besides,  I  had  often  discovered  that  the  coun- 
sel thus  given  was  not  always  for  the  benefit  of  the 
person  counselled. 

My  husband  carefully  thought  over  the  matter.  I 
saw  he  was  much  troubled,  but  he  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  he  would  unreservedly  accept  the  order, 
"  obey,"  and  go.  "^ 

It  was  of  no  use  to  resist,  and  so  I  held  my  tongue. 
Very  often  since,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  probably 
this  was  the  best  thing,  after  all,  that  he  could  do ; 
for  it  was,  in  a  measure,  the  means  of  bringing  him 
to  realize  his  dependent  position  upon  the  will  of 
Brigham  Young. 

He  went  to  visit  Ogden,  and  on  his  return  he  said 
to  me,  "  President  Young  might  as  well  have  sent 
me  into  a  desert.  He  may  perhaps  not  know  it,  for 
probably  he  docs  not  comprehend  the  expenses  of  a 
daily  paper  ;  but  it  will  ruin  me." 

I,  of  course,  did  not  exult  over  this  unpleasant  ful- 
filment of  my  anticipations,  for  I  knew  too  well  how 
greatly  it  would  affect  both  my  family  and  myself. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 39 

It  had,  however,  as  I  hoped,  the  desired  effect  of 
adding  to  his  growing  convictions  about  Brigham  and 
the  priesthood,  and  with  this  I  was  satisfied. 

Since  then  I  have  often  asked  Mr.  S.  if  he  had  not 
better  have  taken  my  advice,  and  he  has  answered 
me,  "  There  is  a  period  in  every  man's  life  in  Mor- 
monism  when  he  must  show  his  obedience  ;  my  time 
was  then.  I  gave  evidence  of  my  obedience,  and  it 
brought  ruin,  as  I  expected.  Henceforth  I  will  fol- 
low the  best  experience  of  my  life." 

Much  as  the  trial  had  cost  us,  I  rejoiced  ;  for  I 
saw  in  this  a  renewal  of  his  own  manhood. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  S.  returned  to  Salt  Lake  City 
with  the  Telegraph,  the  Utah  Magazine  began  to 
question  Brigham's  measures,  and  the  editors  assumed 
to  speak  to  the  people  of  their  position.  This  was  at 
once  pronounced  rebellion  and  apostasy.  The  Tele- 
graph took  no  part  against  the  rebels,  and  that  was 
construed  to  be  "  aid  and  comfort "  to  the  enemy. 
Mr.  S.  could  not  oppose  a  movement  that  he  felt  was 
destined  to  shake  the  unchallenged  power  of  the 
priesthood. 

I  well  remember  Mr.  S.  writing  an  article  upon 
"  Progress,"  for  the  Telegraph.  He  wrote  it  at  home, 
and  read  it  to  me,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  as  he 
wrote  it.  I  thought  he  was  "  inspired  ;"  the  reason- 
ing was  so  just,  and  the  words  came  so  freely  from 
his  pen.  When  it  was  finished,  and  he  read  it  to  me 
entire,  we  looked  at  each  other.  I  thought  his  look 
.was  asking  my  opinion,  and  I  quickly  replied,  "Pub- 
lish it ;  it  is  true."  He  said,  "  It  is  true,  but  it  will 
bring  trouble  if  published."     "  Never  mind,"  I  added, 


140      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

"  if  it  brings  us  to  the  door ;  let  us  be  true  to  the 
truth." 

It  was  published  on  the  2d  of  October,  1 869. 

The  semi-annual  conference  of  the  church  was 
held  that  week,  and  continued  in  session  five  days. 
At  the  close  of  the  session,  on  the  Sunday  afternoon, 
the  Apostle  Amasa  Lyman,  and  Mr.  William  S. 
Godbe,  soon  after  prominent  men  in  the  reform 
movement,  came  to  dine  with  us,  by  previous  ap- 
pointment. Mr.  S.  had  gone  to  the  post-office,  but 
soon  joined  them  in  the  parlour,  carrying  a  small 
newspaper  open  in  his  hand  as  he  entered. 

After  the  usual  greetings  he  said, "  Brethren,  the 
ball  is  open  ;  hear  this."  In  that  little  paper  there 
was  a  letter  reviewing  the  article  upon  "  Progress," 
and  with  it  the  correspondent  professed  to  reveal  that 
there  was  a  "  movement "  on  foot  in  Salt  Lake  City 
to  attack  Brigham's  assumptions,  and  make  a  strike 
for  "  civil  and  religious  liberty  ;"  and  that  the  arti- 
cle on  "Progress,"  while  it  professed  to  treat  of 
France  under  Louis  Napoleon,  meant  Utah  under 
Brigham  Young.  The  article  had  just  only  been 
read  a  few  minutes,  and  the  gentlemen  named,  Mr. 
S.,  and  myself,  were  looking  with  that  vacant,  think- 
ing, meditative  stare  which  showed  that  each  one  was 
fully  absorbed  with  the  idea  that  there  was  something 
to  come  of  it.  At  that  very  instant,  Mr.  Joseph  A. 
Young,  President  Young's  eldest  son,  entered  the 
parlour. 

After  friendly  salutations,  Mr.  Young  excused  him- 
self from  joining  us  at  dinner ;  ^nd  as  we  entered 
the  dining-room,  we  instinctively  turned  to  each  other 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      I4I 

and  remarked  how  singular  it  was  that  he  should  drop 
in  upon  us  while  his  father  was  the  subject  of  conver- 
sation and  meditation.     That,  however,  was  all  right. 

On  the  following  Tuesday  evening,  I  made  Mr.  Jo- 
seph A.  Young  acquainted  with  the  feeling  in  opposi- 
tion to  his  father,  and  avowed  that  Mr.  S.  was  in  the 
hostile  camp.  On  Saturday,  seven  elders,  of  which 
number  Mr.  S.  was  one,  were  attacked  in  "  the  School 
of  the  Prophets,"  and  summoned  to  appear  on  the 
following  Saturday. 

This  was  looked  for  ;  but  Brigham,  in  his  anger, 
had  gone  too  far,  and  "  disfellowshipped  them  from 
the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  irregular  attendance 
at  the  school."  Brigham's  assumption  of  the  right  to 
disfellowship  men  from  Christ  because  of  irregular 
attendance  at  a  school,  brought  Mr.  S.  to  a  conclu- 
sion. He  said  to  me,  "  With  such  an  assumption  of 
authority,  what  will  he  not  do  next  ?  To  submit  to 
it  is  to  acknowledge  him  absolute  and  me  a  slave. 
There  is  but  one  choice  now — slavery  or  freedom. 
Cost  me  what  it  may,  I  shall  be  free."  From  that 
day  we  never  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Saints.  In 
August  of  the  following  year,  1870,  Mr.  S.  sent  a  re- 
spectful, kindly  letter  to  the  bishop  of  our  Ward,  stat- 
ing that  he  had  not  faith  in  Brigham's  claim  to  an 
Infallible  Priesthood,  and  that  he  ought  to  be  cut  off 
from  the  church.  I  added  a  postscript,  stating  that 
I  wished  to  share  his  fate,  although  I  little  dreamed 
that  in  three  days  after  that  my  request  should  have 
such  a  malignant  fulfilment. 

We  were  going  home  on  the  Saturday  night  suc- 
ceeding our  withdrawal  from  the  church,  a  few  mi- 


142      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

nutes  past  ten  o'clock.  The  night  was  very  dark. 
Our  residence  is  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  north  of 
the  Temple  block,  and  the  road  is  very  quiet.  As 
we  went  along  we  suddenly  and  dimly  saw  four  men 
come  out  from  under  some  trees  a  little  distance 
from  us.  They  separated,  and  two  of  them  came 
forward  and  stumbled  up  against  us,  and  two  passed 
by  the  side  of  us.  I  thought  for  a  moment  that 
they  were  intoxicated,  but  it  was  soon  clear  that  they 
were  acting  from  design. 

As  soon  as  they  approached,  they,  one  on  each 
side,  seized  hold  of  my  husband's  arms,  and  he,  al- 
though by  no  means  deficient  in  strength,  was.  thus 
rendered  powerless.  The  men,  I  should  state,  were 
masked  so  that  we  could  not  distinguish  their  fea- 
tures. I  imagine  that  they  supposed  I  should  be 
frightened  and  run  away.  But  in  this  they  had  cal- 
culated wrongly.  I  still  clung  to  my  husband's  arm, 
but  with  my  left  hand  caught  hold  of  one  of  the  ruf- 
fians by  the  collar  of  his  coat ;  for  I  apprehended  the 
worst,  well  knowing  of  what  atrocities  these  men 
were  capable.  This  considerably  impeded  their 
movements.  The  other  two,  who  were  likewise 
masked,  stood  a  few  feet  distant,  and  seemed  to  hesi- 
tate for  a  moment.  One  of  the  men  who  held  my 
husband's  arm  exclaimed,  "  Brethren,  do  your  duty  !" 
The  voice  was  in  an  instant  recognized  as  that  of  one 
of  the  policemen,  whom  Mr.  S.  and  myself  had  patted 
on  the  head  when  a  child  in  England. 

Instantly  I  saw  them  raise  their  arms.  It  was  too 
dark  to  distinguish  any  thing  definitely,  and  I  thought 
they  were  about  to  kill  us.     We  had  both  the  same 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 43 

thought,  and  this  probably  wotdd  have  been  Mr. 
Stenhouse's  fate  had  he  been  alone  ;  but  I  think  that 
my  presence  somewhat  disarranged  their  plans.  A 
much  less  noble  fate  was  reserved  for  us.  I  am 
ashamed  to  tell  what  they  did.  *  *  *  gyg^ 
now  I  shudder,  as  I  recall  the  scenes  of  that  night. 
I  was  nearly  insane  with  rage  and  indignation.  I  felt 
at  the  moment  that  life  was  nothing  to  me,  and  I 
called  to  them  to  come  and  kill  us.  It  would  have 
been  an  honour  and  even  pleasant  to  have  been  shot 
or  killed  by  the  assassin's  knife,  rather  than  endure 
such  an  indignity  as  this. 

Although  the  men  who  attacked  us  were  masked, 
there  is  no  question  in  our  minds  that  they  were  two 
of  the  regular,  and  two  of  the  special  police.  I  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that  their  original  intention 
was  to  kill  Mr.  S.  About  ten  minutes  before,  they 
had  seen  him  alone,  and  they  did  not  believe  that  \\ 
should  be  with  him.  Had  I  run  away  and  left  him 
with  them,  I  believe  they  would  have  beaten  him  to 
death.  Men  who  would  commit  such  an  assault 
were  capable  of  committing  murder. 

When  they  had  perpetrated  this  disgusting  and 
brutal  outrage,  they  turned  and  fled.  We  ran  after 
them  for  some  little  distance  ;  but  we  had  no  arms 
or  any  thing  to  defend  ourselves,  and  as  there  was 
another  man  lurking  about  a  little  distance  in  the 
direction  in  which  they  ran,  we  thought  best  not  to 
go  any  further  ;  for  we  knew  that  they  would  not 
shrink  from  murder,  if  that  would  conceal  what  they 
had  done. 

I  declared  in  my  anger  that  if  there  yet  remained 


144      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

one  solitary  link  which  bound  me  to  Mormonism,  it 
should  be  severed  that  night.  Not  that  I  blame  the 
mass  of  the  Mormon  people ;  for  I  know  the  honest 
hearts  of  that  community,  and  that  as  a  body  they 
revolted  at  the  atrocious  wrong  that  was  done  us  ; 
and  although  not  one  of  them  came  openly  to  express 
that  feeling  to  me,  hundreds  of  them  did  so  in  private. 
I  was  sick  for  three  days  after,  so  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  attend  to  business.  I  could  not  calm  my 
agitated  feelings  or  stifle  my  indignation.  Probably 
I  was  wrong  in  giving  way  to  anger  ;  but  it  seemed 
to  me  that  nothing  except  revenge  upon  those  horri- 
ble men  could  satisfy  me.  My  husband  and  I  felt 
sure  that  we  knew  who  they  were,  but  how  could  we 
swear  to  masked  men  ?  Some  time  after,  a  wife  of 
one  of  these  men,  whom  we  suspected,  came  to  see 
me,  and  told  me  that  she  believed  her  husband  had 
been  engaged  in  the  affair.  It  seems  perhaps  strange 
that  any  wife  should  do  this  ;  but  she  had  a  great 
respect  for  me,  and  none  at  all  for  her  husband,  as 
he  was  very  brutal  to  her. 

When  I  had  sufficiently  recovered  to  return  to 
business,  I  went  down  to  the  city  with  my  hus- 
band. In  passing  the  house  of  D.  H.  Wells,  the 
Mayor  of  the  city,  we  saw  him  standing  at  a  short 
distance  from  us  ;  but  he  made  no  attempt  to  come 
forward  and  express  any  regret.  This  I  considered 
it  was  his  place,  as  mayor  of  the  city,  to  do  ;  and  as 
an  old  friend  I  fully  expected  as  much  from  him.  No 
Mormon,  as  I  before  intimated,  came  purposely  to 
sympathize  with  me  ;  but  the  whole  of  that  day  my 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 45 

Store  was  filled  with  Gentiles,*  and  for  several  days 
after  they  kept  coming  to  tell  me  how  disgusted  and 
indignant  they  were  at  such  an  abominable  outrage. 
I  received  also  many  letters  from  different  parts  of 
the  country,  both  within  the  Territory  of  Utah  and 
outside  of  it. 

Mr.  Joseph  A.  Young  offered  a  reward  to  the  chief 
of  police  on  the  night  of  the  attack  for  the  apprehen- 
sion of  the  ruffians,  and  a  few  "  Gentile"  friends  of- 
fered a  reward  of  ^500  for  evidence  that  would  lead 
to  their  identification,  but  there  was  no  response. 
A  Mormon  paper,  in  order  to  direct  attention  away 
from  the  guilty  parties,  tried  to  insinuate  that  it  was 
caused  by  some  "  personal  difficulty."  This  course 
was  not  a  new  one.  When  Dr.  Robinson,  a  few  years 
before,  was  murdered  in  Salt  Lake  City,  the  Taberna- 
cle insinuated  that  he  had  met  his  death  in  gam- 
bling. That  gentleman  was  utterly  innocent  of  gam- 
bling, and  was  not  known  to  have  an  enemy. 

*  The  Mormons  use  the  term  **  Gentiles"  to  designate  a// outside  of 
the  church,  whether  Christians,  Jews,  or  any  other  religion,  and  in 
this  sense  it  is  used  in  this  volume.  When  a  man  forsakes  Mormon- 
ism,  he  does  not  become  a  "Gentile"  again,  but  an  "Apostate," 
vhich  is  a  still  more  odious  and  -opprobrious  appellation  among  the 
Saints. 


CHAPTER   XVI., 

Recent  Conclusions  on  Polygamy — Faith  in  the  Doctrine  declining- 
How  Women  in  Utah  feel — False  Notions  and  Statements — Sophis- 
tries about  Want  of  Faith — Opinions  of  Young  Girls  —  Better 
Chances  now  —  Changes  operating  in  Utah — Brigham  becomes 
fashionable  ;  he  abandons  his  own  Teachings- — How  a  Man  with 
two  Wives  cleverly  escaped  from  Polygamy  and  Utah — Difficulties 
of  Plusbands  when  they  leave  the  Faith — Effects  of  the  Law  of  1862 
— Domestic  Sympathies — Evil  Effects  of  Example  upon  Boys. 

I  HAVE  watched  the  whole  system  of  Polygamy 
closely,  and  have  tried  earnestly  to  discover  wherein 
it  was  productive  of  any  good  ;  but  in  not  one  single 
instance  could  I  find,  after  the  most  diligent  observa- 
tion, any  but  the  very  worst  results.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  was  the  same  story  again  and  again  repeated 
— evil — evil — evil ! 

That  some  men  have  practised  Polygamy  with 
honest  intentions  and  a  desire  to  "  keep  the  com- 
mandments of  God,"  I  know  well  to  be  true.  I  re- 
spect such  men  even  while  they  do  so.  They  err  in 
blindness,  and  I  believe  they  suffer  while  they  are 
willing  to  make  the  sacrifice,  (for  to  such  men  it  is  a 
sacrifice ;)  but  it  is  only  the  first  step  that  troubles 
them.  They  soon  get  over  it.  I  know  others  in  whom 
I  had  not  this  confidence — men  who  seem  always 
ready  and  anxious  to  "  live  up  to  their  privileges,"  as 
they  call  it,  without  regard  to  any  sacred  obligations. 

It  has  been  frequently  said  to  me  in  my  travels. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 47 

both  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  States,  that  gentle- 
men from  Utah  had  been  asked  how  the  ladies  sub- 
mitted to  Polygamy,  and  that  they  had  made  answer, 
"  Oh  !  very  well :  they  are  perfectly  happy,  for  they 
look  upon  its  practice  as  a  religious  duty,  and  are 
satisfied  and  contented  with  it." 

Those  women  (if  there  be  any  ?)  who  prefer  this 
state  of  things  are  *few  and  far  between,  and  wher- 
ever such  a  woman  may  be  found,  I  am  certain  that 
it  will  be  discovered  that  the  husband  is  some  worth- 
less fellow,  or  else  so  disagreeable  in  his  family  that 
the  wives  have  no  affection  for  him,  and  they  there- 
fore seek  the  companionship  of  each  other. 

Why  gentlemen  should  make  statements  so  very 
likely  to  mislead  the  public,  I  do  not  know.  Possi- 
bly some  of  them  really  believe  it ;  for,  as  I  before 
stated,  where  a  man  has  more  than  one  wife  his 
wives  are  careful  to  conceal  their  real  feelings  from 
him,  for  fear  of  creating  a  prejudice  against  them- 
selves and  in  favour  of  the  other  wife  ;  for  whether 
a  woman  loves  her  husband  or  not,  she  does  not  like 
it  to  be  said  that  she  has  been  cast  off  for  another  ; 
and  I  know  from  experience  that  Mormon  husbands 
are  the  very  last  to  learn  of  their  wives'  feelings. 

Women  who  tell  the  world  that  they  are  happy 
and  contented,  if  they  would  only  express  themselves 
freely  would  tell  of  their  heart-aches,  of  their  sleepless 
nights,  and  of  their  loneliness.  Others  could  tell 
that,  in  spite  of  their  husband's  kindness  to  them, 
their  hearts  knew  no  joy  or  happiness.  If  a  woman 
in  this  condition  of  mind  were  asked  if  she  did  not 
love  her  husband  as  formerly,  very  probably  she  would 


148      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

answer,  "  O  dear !  no  ;  if  I  did,  I  could  not  live.  The 
greatest  trouble  I  had  was  to  withdraw  my  affections 
from  my  husband  and  fix  them  on  my  children.  If  I 
had  not  done  this,  where  would  my  children  be  ? — 
with  their  mother  in  the  grave."  Oh  !  how  true  this 
is  !     I  know  it — I  feel  it ! 

Heaven  help  these  poor  women  !  If  they  could 
only  know  for  themselves  that  this  continued  sacri- 
fice was  not  necessary,  their  very  hearts  would  sing 
for  joy. 

I  once  said  to  a  lady  holding  a  high  position  in  the 
church,  when  she  was  persuading  me  to  give  another 
wife  to  my  husband,  "  What  good  will  it  do  me  to 
give  him  another  wife  ?  I  cannot  do  it  with  a  good 
feeling.  I  know  that  I  should  loathe  both  him  and 
her  ;  and  how  could  I  expect  to  get  any  blessing 
from  God  by  so  doing  .?"  She  answered,  "  If  you  had 
a  loaf  of  bread  to  make,  what  would  it  matter  how 
you  felt  while  making  it,  so  long  as  you  did  make  it.?" 
That  is  just  what  the  church  authorities  have  thought : 
no  matter  how  many  women  were  crushed,  or  how 
many  were  sent  to  their  graves,  in  the  effort  to  es- 
tablish Polygamy,  if  only  they  could  establish  it. 

The  young  girls  in  Utah  feel  about  Polygamy 
much  as  their  mothers  do.  They  like  it  so  little  that 
when  one  of  the  city  girls  marries  a  man  who  has 
already  a  wife  or  wives,  it  is  generally  supposed  that 
she  does  so  because  he  can  keep  her  better  than  a 
younger  man  could.  Until  very  recently,  the  young 
men  in  Utah  were  not  generally  very  attractive  to 
any  sensible  girl.  They  seemed  to  be  destitute  of 
ambition,  but  perhaps,  after  all,  they  were  not  so 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 49 

much  to  blame  for  that.  Poor  boys  !  There  was 
really  but  little  else  for  them  to  do  but  to  haul  wood 
for  their  fathers'  different  families,  and  hunt  stray 
cattle. 

It  is  now  greatly  different  in  Salt  Lake  City ;  as 
young  men  can  get  remunerative  employment,  and 
are  very  willing  to  engage  in  useful  work  ;  while 
a  corresponding  change  is  effected  in  their  favour 
with  the  girls.  There  are  very  few  sensible,  educat- 
ed girls  in  Salt  Lake  City,  who  would  to-day  prefer 
Polygamy  to  monogamy  :  I  doubt  whether  there  is 
really  one. 

The  sermons,  newspapers,  and  songs  at  one  time 
were  full  of  "  the  glory  of  the  old  man  and  the  maiden 
going  forth  in  the  dance  together ;"  but  the  rapid 
change  that  is  coming  over  the  country  and  people 
is  fast  dispelling  all  this.  In  a  few  years  more,  the 
anxiety  to  fulfil  ancient  Hebrew  predictions  at  the 
cruel  sacrifice  of  youth,  beauty,  and  honourable  maid- 
enly ambition,  will  disappear  and  be  looked  back  upon 
by  the  Mormons  themselves  as  follies  of  the  past. 
When  the  Mormons  lived  in  log  huts  and  "  dug-outs," 
wore  coarse,  homespun  garments,  drank  "coffee" 
made  of  roasted  barley  and  wheat,  and  their  women 
and  children  wore  shakers  and  sun-bonnets  in  sum- 
mer, and  covered  their  heads  in  winter  with  cravats 
and  shawls,  an  extra  wife,  or  an  extra  half-dozen 
wives,  could  be  very  easily  provided  for.  In  that 
condition  of  poverty  and  isolation,  the  women  did 
truly  "  eat  their  own  bread  and  wear  their  own  appa- 
rel." The  commercial  development  of  the  country 
has  changed  every  thing  and  every  body  ;  and  in  no 


150      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

one  has  the  change  been  more  observed  than  on 
Brigham  Young  himself.  Accordingly,  Polygamy  is 
becoming  unpopular,  and  a  natural  desire  for  a  higher 
condition  in  life  is  taking  its  place. 

Aware  of  the  marked  difference  in  his  own  appea- 
rance, and  in  the  comforts  and  luxuries  with  which 
himself  and  family  are  surrounded,  Brigham  tries  to 
excuse  himself  for  wearing  broadcloth  by  pleading 
the  old-fashioned  weakness  of  Eden,  "  The  woman 
tempted  me" — "My  wives  insist  that  I  shall  wear 
better  clothes."  This  is  the  only  instance  wherein 
Brigham  Young  was  ever  known  to  be  ruled  by  his 
wives  ! 

While  his  family  was  confined  to  his  first  fifteen  or 
sixteen  wives,  good  women  of  faith  and  hard  labour, 
he  was  plain,  home-clad  "  Brother  Brigham  ;"  but  with 
the  later  additions  of  vanity  and  fashion  to  his  house- 
hold, he  found  his  Delilah.  And  if  he  lives  long 
enough,  at  the  rate  he  has  been  going  on  of  late 
years,  he  will  soon  rival  Solomon  in  more  ways  than 
one.  He  has  apostatized  further  from  his  first  teach- 
ings of  faith  and  on  Polygamy  than  any  man  in  Mor- 
monism. 

When  once  a  Mormon  has  entered  into  that  order 
of  marriage,,  he  is  no  longer  a  free  man  ;  he  is  bound 
and  "cannot  help  himself,  and  this  the  authorities 
know.  Where  could  a  man  go  .to  outside  of  Utah 
with  more  than  one  wife }  He  must  remain  where 
he  is,  or  give  up  his  family. 

That  many  a  man  has  been  counselled  to  add 
wives  to  his  first  with  the  intention  of  binding  him 
to  the  church  and  hindering  him  from  either  aposta- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      151 

lizing  or  leaving  the  country,  is  a  commonly  under- 
stood fact  ;  and  many  a  man  has  keenly  felt  the 
wrong  to  himself  as  well  as  to  his  wife,  when  neither 
of  them  desired  to  disturb  the  peaceful  harmony  of 
their  family  happiness  by  the  experiment  of  imitating 
the  domestic  life  of  the  Jewish  Patriarchs. 

One  man  only  of  my  acquaintance  has  been  suc- 
cessful in  breaking  his  polygamic  relations  and  in 
leaving  the  country.  He  was  in  business  as  a  mer- 
chant, and  apparently  tied  up,  so  that  he  could  not 
leave  ;  but  as  his  wives  were  as  anxious  as  he  was  to 
break  up  the  relationship,  their  movements  were  so 
well  concealed  that  none  of  the  authorities  of  the 
church  had  the  slightest  idea  of  his  intended  depar- 
ture. His  family  had  gone  a  few  miles  into  the 
country  on  a  visit,  and  he  left  his  store  with  his  coat 
off,  and  rode  out  of  the  town  in  a  grain-wagon  as  if 
he  were  going  to  the  grist-mill.  The  overland  mail- 
stage  picked  him  up  a  few  miles  from  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  a  few  miles  further,  the  family  were  taken  into 
the  stage,  and  they  were  off  to  California.  The  se- 
cond wife,  who  had  no  children,  acquiesced  in  the 
right  of  the  first  wife  to  remain  with  the  husband. 
She  got  a  satisfactory  portion  of  his  property,  became 
a  "  Miss"  again,  and  is  to-day  in  California,  rejoicing 
in  her  deliverance. 

I  know  a  gentleman  in  Salt  Lake  City  who  was 
urgently  and  constantly  "  counselled"  to  take  a  second 
wife.  For  years  he  resisted,  but  finally  gave  in  to  the 
importunities  of  counsel,  as  he  saw  that  he  must  do 
so  or  rebel.  As  he  could  not  do  the  latter  conscien- 
tiously, he  took  a  pure  and  beautiful  girl  for  his  second 


152      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

wife.  Now,  when  he  is  no  longer  under  the  same  re- 
ligious obligations,  he  realizes  that  he  is  bound  to 
protect  and  support  her  ;  yet  he  knows  that  in  liviiig 
with  her,  he  is  violating  the  laws  of  the  land.  In 
obeying  "  counsel,"  he  felt  that  he  had  done  right  in 
a  religious  sense  ;  but,  as  a  man  and  citizen,  he 
knows  that  he  is  not  acting  as  he  should,  and  that  is 
one  of  the  intended  difficulties  in  leaving  the  church. 

It  is  related  of  Joseph  Smith  that  when  he  got 
Brigham  Young  and  Heber  C.  Kimball  to  take  other 
wives  he  was  perfectly  delighted,  because,  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  he  had  got  them  "as  much  in  the  mud  as 
he  was  in  the  mire."  He  was  liable  to  indictment 
for  bigamy  in  Illinois  when  he  took  other  wives,  and 
they  were  then  in  the  same  predicament.  Many  men 
of  faith  in  Utah  have  become  polygamists,  not  from 
any  personal  desire  on  their  part  to  assume  either  its 
obligations  or  possess  its  glory,  but  purely  to  share 
in  the  risks  and  penalties  of  violated  law  with  their 
brethren.  Such  appeals  to  the  patriotism  and  devo- 
tion of  men  to  their  religion,  accounts  for  much  that 
has  been  done.  They  obeyed  in  haste,  and  repented 
at  leisure. 

Brigham  Young's  first  violation  of  the  law  against 
Polygamy  was  regarded  by  the  Saints,  whether  he 
intended  it  or  not,  as  an  expression  of  his  confidence 
in  <jod  and  his  defiance  of  Congress.  The  faithful 
and  believing  brethren  could  not  do  less  than  follow 
the  example  of  their  leader.  The  law  of  1862  against 
Polygamy  has  made  very  many  more  polygamists  in 
Utah  than  existed  there  before.  This  opposition  was 
not  confined  to  the  men  only  :  the  women  in  many 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 53 

instances  partook  of  the  same  spirit  ;  and  in  their 
moments  of  enthusiasm  have  seconded  their  hus; 
bands,  but  have  afterwards  had  bitter  cause  to  re- 
pent. 

The  greatest  enemy  to  Polygamy  is  found  in  al 
most  every  polygamic  family.  It  may  be  concealed  ; 
but  it  nevertheless  is  there,  and  only  requires  time  to 
accomplish  its  overthrow.  This  enemy  is  the  great 
dislike  or  repugnance  that  many  children  born  in 
Polygamy  have  to  that  system.  It  can  have  no  foe 
more  powerful  than  this.  If  the  husband  is  neglect- 
ful of  his  wife,  the  son  comes  to  the  aid  and  protec- 
tion of  his  mother  ;  while  the  gentle,  loving  daughter 
consoles  her  with  sweet  sympathy. 

Between  mother  and  children  there  exists  a  bond 
of  union  in  which  the  father  has  no  part.  They  coun- 
sel with  each  other  ;  and  the  result  of  their  commun- 
ings is  unfavourable  to  Polygamy.  This  is  indeed 
the  leaven  which  will  eventually  permeate  the  whole 
system  of  Mormon  ism. 

It  is  painful  to  witness  among  the  rising  generation 
of  boys  in  Utah  the  contempt  which  many  evince 
for  every  thing  that  a  woman  says  or  does,  looking 
upon  her  as  an  inferior  being.  But  this  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  it  is  remembered  what  kind  of 
teaching  they  have  had  in  the  Tabernacle,  and  the 
example  of  some  of  their  own  fathers.  The  sermons 
abound  with  allusions  to  woman's  dependence  upon 
men.  Even  her  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ  has 
to  be  obtained  through  her  husband  !  How  much 
greater,  then,  must  man  be,  with  his  numerous  wives, 
than  either  of  the  wives  is  individually. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

An  Interesting  Courtship — Brigham  Young  seeks  another  Wife — 
Martha  Brotherton  tells  her  Story  of  the  Wooing — Abstract  of  her 
History — "Tricks  that  are  Vain" — "Are  you  ready  to  take  Coun- 
sel ?" — Joseph  Smith's  little  Room — "  Positively  No  Admittance" 
— Joseph  comes  in — He  assists  Brigham's  Courtship — The  Prophet 
a  Proxy  Lover — "A  few  Questions" — "  Lawful  and  Right" — The 
best  Man  in  the  World,  but  me  ! — **  I  will  have  a  kiss,  anyhmv  T — 
**  Don't  you  believe  in  me  ?" — "  If  you  accept  Brigham,  you  shall 
be  blessed" — "If  he  turns  you  off,  I  will  take  you  on" — "Not 
exactly,  sir." 

As  I  have  written  so  much  of  the  troubles  of  the 
sisters,  perhaps  it  will  be  as  well  to  give  the  reader 
an  idea  of  the  trials  and  difficulties  which  the  breth- 
ren had  to  contend  with  when  they  first  attempted 
the  introduction  of  Polygamy.  To  do  this,  I  shall 
give  the  correspondence  of  Miss  Martha  Brotherton, 
relating  a  very  interesting  courtship  between  herself 
and  Brigham  Young.  I  would  have  the  reader  re- 
mark that  this  correspondence  distinctly  proves  that 
Polygamy  was  taught  by  the  heads  of  the  Church 
before  the  Prophet  received  the  professed  revelation. 

This  account  was  published  just  a  year — lacking 
one  day — before  the  revelation  on  Polygamy  was 
given  to  Joseph  Smith.  It  was  published  in  Boston, 
in  book  form,  in  1842.  The  revelation  was  given  at 
NauvoOjOn  the  12th  of  July,  1843. 

I  do  not  vouch  for  the  facts  stated  by  Miss  Brother- 
ton  ;  but  those  who  were  acquainted  with  Elder  Heber 


Cat 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      I55 

C.  Kimball,  and  those  who  know  Brigham  Young 
and  the  style  of  address  of  the  Mormon  elders  when 
Polygamy  first  was  presented  to  the  Saints,  will  very 
readily  accept  the  lady's  statements  as  more  than 
probable.  The  language  is  familiar  to  the  Mormons. 
What  a  high  and  exalted  idea  Joseph  Smith  must 
have  had  of  the  sacredness  of  marriage  when  he  told 
the  young  lady  that  "  if  Brigham  turned  her  off"  he 
"  would  take  her  on."  And  how  immaculate  was 
Brigham  Young's  morality,  when  he  suggested  a 
clandestine  marriage  there  and  then,  without  the 
knowledge  of  her  parents. 

The  following  is  the  letter  referred  to : 

*"St.  Louis,  Missouri,  July  13th,  a.d.  1842. 

♦         *        *        *         * 

"  Dear  Sir  :  I  left  Warsaw  a  short  time  since  for 
this  city,  and  having  been  called  upon  by  you,  through 
the  Sajigamo  yournal,  to  come  out  and  disclose  to 
the  world  the  facts  of  the  case  in  relation  to  certain 
propositions  made  to  me,  at  Nauvoo,  by  some  of  the 
Mormon  leaders,  I  now  proceed  to  respond  to  the 
call,  and  discharge  what  I  consider  to  be  a  duty  de- 
volving upon  me  as  an  innocent,  but  insulted  and 
abused  female.  I  had  been  at  Nauvoo  nearly  three 
weeks,  during  which  time  my  father's  family  received 
frequent  visits  from  Elders  Brigham  Young  and 
Hebcr  C.  Kimball,  two  of  the  Mormon  Apostles  ; 
when,  early  one  morning,  they  both  came  to  my 
brother-in-law's  (John  Mcllwrick's)  house,  at  which 
place  I  was  then  on  a  visit,  and   particularly  re- 

•  Mormonism  Exposed^  p.  236. 


156      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

quested  me  to  go  and  spend  a  few  days  with 
them.  I  told  them  I  could  not  at  that  time,  as 
my  brother-in-law  was  not  at  home ;  however,  they 
urged  me  to  go  the  next  day  and  spend  one  day 
with  them.  The  day  being  fine,  I  accordingly  went. 
When  I  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Young  and 
Kimball  were  standing  conversing  together.  They 
both  came  to  me,  and,  after  several  flattering  compli- 
ments, Kimball  wished  me  to  go  to  his  house  first. 
I  said  it  was  immaterial  to  me,  and  went  accordingly. 
We  had  not,  however,  gone  many  steps  when  Young 
suddenly  stopped  and  said  he  would  go  to  that  bro- 
ther's, (pointing  to  a  little  log  hut  a  few  yards  distant,) 
and  tell  him  that  you  (speaking  to  Kimball)  and  Bro- 
ther Glover,  or  Grover,  (I  do  not  remember  which,) 
will  value  his  land.  When  he  had  gone,  Kimball 
turned  to  me  and  said,  *  Martha,  I  want  you  to  say  to 
my  wife,  when  you  go  to  my  house,  that  you  want  to 
buy  some  things  at  Joseph's  store,  (Joseph  Smith's,) 
and  I  will  say  I  am  going  with  you  to  show  you  the 
way.  You  know  you  want  to  see  the  Prophet,  and 
you  will  then  have  an  opportunity.'  I  made  no  reply. 
Young  again  made  his  appearance,  and  the  subject 
was  dropped.  We  soon  reached  Kimball's  house, 
when  Young  took  his  leave,  saying,  '  I  shall  see  you 
again,  Martha.'  I  remained  at  Kimball's  nearly  an 
hour ;  when  Kimball,  seeing  I  would  not  tell  the  lies 
he  wished  me  to,  told  them  to  his  wife  himself.  He 
hen  went  and  whispered  in  her  ear,  and  asked  if  that 
would  please  her.  *  Yes,'  said  she,  '  or  I  can  go  along 
with  you  and  Martha.'  '  No,'  said  he,  *  I  have  some 
business  to  do,  and  I  will  call  for  you  afterwards  to 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMV.      1 5/ 

go  with  me  to  the  debate/  meaning  the  debate  be- 
tween yourself  and  Joseph.  To  this  she  consented. 
So  Kimball  and  I  went  to  the  store  together.  As  we 
were  going  along,  he  said,  *  Sister  Martha,  are  you 
willing  to  do  all  that  the  Prophet  requires  you  to  do  } ' 
I  said,  I  believed  I  was — thinking,  of  course,  he 
would  require  nothing  wrong.  '  Then,*  said  he,  '  are 
you  ready  to  take  counsel  ?  *  I  answered  in  the  affir- 
mative, thinking  of  the  great  and  glorious  blessings 
that  had  been  pronounced  upon  my  head  if  I  adhered 
to  the  counsel  of  those  placed  over  me  in  the  Lord. 
*  Well,'  said  he  *  there  are  many  things  revealed  in 
these  last  days  that  the  world  would  laugh  and  scoff 
at ;  but  unto  us  is  given  to  know  the  mysteries  of  the 
kingdom.'  He  further  observed,  '  Martha,  you  must 
learn  to  hold  your  tongue,  and  it  will  be  well  with 
you.  You  will  see  Joseph,  and  very  likely  will  have 
some  conversation  with  him,  and  he  will  tell  you 
what  you  shall  do.'  When  we  reached  the  building, 
he  led  me  up  some  stairs  to  a  small  room,  the  door  of 
which  was  locked,  and  on  it  the  following  inscription, 
'  Positively  no  admittance.'  lie  observed,  '  Ah  !  Bro- 
ther Joseph  must  be  sick,  for,  strange  to  say,  he  is 
not  here.  Come  down  into  the  tithing-office,  Martha.' 
He  then  left  me  in  the  tithing-office,  and  went  out,  I 
know  not  where.  In  this  office  were  two  men  writ- 
ing, one  of  whom,  William  Clayton,  I  had  seen  in 
England ;  the  other  I  did  not  know.  Young  came 
in  and  seated  himself  before  me,  and  asked  where 
Kimball  was.  I  said  he  had  gone  out.  He  said  it 
was  all  right.  Soon  after,  Joseph  came  in  and  spoke 
to  one  of  the  clerks,  and  then  went  up-stairs,  followed 


158      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY, 

by  Young.  Immediately  after,  Kimball  came  in. 
*  Now,  Martha,'  said  he,  '  the  Prophet  has  come  ; 
come  up-stairs.'  I  went,  and  we  found  Young  and 
the  Prophet  alone.  I  was  introduced  to  the  Prophet 
by  Young.  Joseph  offered  me  his  seat,  and,  to  my 
astonishment,  the  moment  I  was  seated,  Joseph  and 
Kimball  walked  out  of  the  room,  and  left  me  with 
Young,  who  arose,  locked  the  door,  closed  the  win- 
dow, and  drew  the  curtain.  He  then  came  and  sat 
before  me  and  said,  *  This  is  our  private  room,  Mar- 
tha.' *  Indeed,  sir,'  said  I  ;  *  I  must  be  highly  ho- 
noured to  be  permitted  to  enter  it.'  He  smiled,  and 
then  proceeded,  '  Sister  Martha,  I  want  to  ask  you  a 
few  questions  ;  will  you  answer  them  ? '  *  Yes,  sir,' 
said  I.  *  And  will  you  promise  not  to  mention  them 
to  any  one .'' '  *  If  it  is  your  desire,  sir,'  said  I,  '  I  will 
not.'  *  And  you  will  not  think  any  the  worse  of  me 
for  it;  will  you,  Martha.-*'  said  he.  'No,  sir,'  I  re- 
plied. '  Well,'  said  he,  *  what  are  your  feelings  to- 
ward me  ?'  I  replied,  *  My  feelings  are  just  the  same 
toward  you  that  they  ever  were,  sir.'  '  But,  to  come 
to  the  point  more  closely,'  said  he,  '  have  not  you  an 
affection  for  me,  that,  were  it  lawful  and  right,  you 
would  accept  of  me  for  your  husband  and  com- 
panion .?'  My  feelings  at  this  moment  were  inde- 
scribable. God  only  knows  them.  What,  thought  I, 
are  these  men,  that  I  thought  almost  perfection  it- 
self, deceivers  }  and  is  all  my  fancied  happiness  but 
a  dream  }  'Twas  even  so  ;  but  my  next  thought  was, 
which  is  the  best  way  for  me  to  act  at  this  time  ?  If 
I  say  No,  they  may  do  as  they  think  proper  ;  and  to 
say  Yes,  I  never  would.     So  I  considered  it  best  to 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 59 

ask  for  time  to  think  and  pray  about  it.  I  therefore 
said,  *  If  it  was  lawful  and  right,  perhaps  I  might ;  but 
you  know,  sir,  it  is  not.*  *  Well,  but,'  said  he,  '  Bro- 
ther Joseph  has  had  a  revelation  from  God  that  it  is 
lawful  and  right  for  a  man  to  have  two  wives  ;  for,  as 
it  was  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  so  it  shall  be  in  these 
last  days,  and  whoever  is  the  first  that  is  willing  to 
take  up  the  cross  will  receive  the  greatest  blessings  ; 
and,  if  you  will  accept  of  me,  I  will  take  you  straight 
to  the  celestial  kingdom  ;  and,  if  you  will  have  me  in 
this  world,  I  will  have  you  in  that  which  is  to  come, 
and  Brother  Joseph  will  marry  us  here  to-day,  and 
you  can  go  home  this  evening,  and  your  parents  will 
not  know  any  thing  about  it.'  *  Sir/  said  I,  *  I  should 
not  like  to  do  any  thing  of  the  kind  without  the  per- 
mission of  my  parents.'  '  Well,  but,'  said  he,  '  you 
are  of  age,  are  you  not  ?'  *  No,  sir,'  said  I  ;  *  I  shall 
not  be  until  the  24th  of  May.'  *  Well,'  said  he,  '  that 
does  not  make  any  difference.  You  will  be  of  age 
before  they  know,  and  you  need  not  fear.  If  you  will 
take  my  counsel,  it  will  be  well  with  you,  for  I  know 
it  to  be  right  before  God  ;  and  if  there  is  any  sin  in 
it,  I  will  answer  for  it.  But  Brother  Joseph  wishes 
to  have  some  talk  with  you  on  the  subject ;  he  will 
explain  things  ;  will  you  hear  him  ? '  *  I  do  not  mind,' 
said  I.  *  Well,  but  I  want  you  to  say  something,' 
said  he.  '  I  want  to  think  about  it,'  said  I.  '  Well,' 
said  he,  *  I  will  have  a  kiss,  anyhow,'  and  then  rose, 
and  said  he  would  bring  Joseph.  He  then  unlocked 
the  door,  and  took  the  key,  and  locked  me  up  alone. 
He  was  absent  about  ten  minutes,  and  then  returned 
with  Joseph.     *  Well,'  said  Young,  '  Sister   Martha 


l60      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

would  be  willing,  if  she  knew  it  was  lawful  and  right 
before  God.'  '  Well,  Martha,'  said  Joseph,  *  it  is  law- 
ful and  right  before  God — I  know  it  is.  Look  here, 
sis ;  don't  you  believe  in  me.'  I  did  not  answer. 
*  Well,  Martha,'  said  Joseph,  'just  go  ahead,  and  do 
as  Brigham  wants  you  to  ;  he  is  the  best  man  in  the 
world,  except  me.'  *  Oh  ! '  said'Brigham, '  then  you  are 
as  good.'  '  Yes,'  said  Joseph.  '  Well,'  said  Young, 
'  we  believe  Joseph  to  be  a  Prophet.  I  have  known 
him  near  eight  years,  and  have  always  found  him  the 
same.'  *  Yes,'  said  Joseph,  '  and  I  know  that  this  is 
lawful  and  right  before  God,  and  if  there  is  any  sin 
in  it,  I  will  answer  for  it  before  God  ;  and  I  have  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom,  and  whatever  I  bind  on  earth 
is  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatever  I  loose  on  earth 
is  loosed  in  heaven  ;  and  if  you  will  accept  of  Brig- 
ham,  you  shall  be  blessed — God  shall  bless  you,  and 
my  blessing  shall  rest  upon  you  ;  and,  if  you  will  be 
led  by  him,  you  will  do  well ;  for  I  know  that  Brig- 
ham  will  do  well  by  you,  and  if  he  don't  do  his  duty 
to  you,  come  to  me,  and  I  will  make  him  ;  and  if  you 
do  not  like  it  in  a  month  or  two,  come  to  me  and  I 
will  make  you  free  again  ;  and  if  he  turns  you  off,  I 
will  take  you  on.'  '  Sir,'  said  I,  rather  warmly,  '  it 
will  be  too  late  to  think  in  a  month  or  two  after.  I 
want  time  to  think  first'  '  Well,  but,'  said  he,  *  the 
old  proverb  is,  "  Nothing  ventured,  nothing  gained  ;'■ 
and  it  would  be  the  greatest  blessing  that  was  ever 
bestowed  upon  you.'  *  Yes,'  said  Young,  '  and  you 
will  never  have  reason  to  repent  it — that  is,  if  I  do 
not  turn  from  righteousness,  and  that,  I  trust,  I  never 
shall ;  for  I  believe  God,  who  has  kept  me  so  long, 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      l6l 

will  continue  to  keep  me  faithful.  Did  you  ever  see 
me  act  in  any  way  wrong  in  England,  Martha  ? '  *  No, 
sir,'  said  I.  '  No,'  said  he  ;  '  neither  can  any  one  else 
lay  any  thing  to  my  charge.'  *  Well,  then,'  said  Jo- 
seph, *  what  are  you  afraid  of,  sis }  Come,  let  me  do 
the  business  for  you.'  '  Sir,'  said  I,  *  do  let  me  have 
a  little  time  to  think  about  it,  and  I  will  promise  not 
to  mention  it  to  any  one.'  *  Well,  but  look  here,' 
said  he  ;  *you  know  a  fellow  will  never  be  damned 
for  doing  the  best  he  knows  how.'  *  Well,  then,'  said 
I,  *  the  best  way  I  know  of  is,  to  go  home  and  think 
and  pray  about  it'  *  Well,'  said  Young,  '  I  shall  leave 
it  with  Brother  Joseph,  whether  it  would  be  best  for 
you  to  have  time  or  not.'  /  Well,'  said  Joseph,  *  I  see 
no  harm  in  her  having  time  to  think,  if  she  will  not 
fall  into  temptation.'  *  O  sir  ! '  said  I,  '  there  is  no 
fear  of  my  falling  into  temptation.'  '  Well,  but,'  said 
Brigham,  *you  must  promise  me  you  will  never  men- 
tion it  to  any  one.'  *  I  do  promise  it,'  said  I.  *  Well,' 
said  Joseph,  'you  must  promise  me  the  same.'  I 
promised  him  the  same.  '  Upon  your  honour,'  said 
he,  '  you  will  not  tell.'  *  No,  sir  ;  L  will  lose  my  life 
first,'  said  I.  *  Well,  that  will  do,'  said  he  ;  *  that  is 
the  principle  we  go  upon.  I  think  I  can  trust  you, 
Martha,'  said  he.  'Yes,'  said  I,  '  I  think  you  ought.' 
Joseph  said,  '  She  looks  as  if  she  could  keep  a  secret.' 
I  then  rose  to  go,  when  Joseph  commenced  to  beg  of 
mc  again.  He  said  it  was  the  best  opportunity  they 
might  have  for  months,  for  the  room  was  often  en- 
gaged. I,  however,  had  determined  what  to  do. 
*  Well,'  said  Young,  '  I  will  see  you  to-morrow.  I  am 
going  to  preach  at  the  school-house  opposite  your 


1 62      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

house.  I  have-  never  preached  there  yet ;  you  will 
be  there,  I  suppose/  '  Yes/  said  I.  The  next  day 
being  Sunday,  I  sat  down,  instead  of  going  to  meet- 
ing, and  wrote  the  conversation,  and  gave  it  to  my 
sister,  who  was  not  a  little  surprised ;  but  she  said  it 
would  be  best  to  go  to  meeting  in  the  afternoon. 
We  went,  and  Young  administered  the  sacrament. 
After  it  was  over,  I  was  passing  out,  and  Young 
stopped  me,  saying,  *  Wait,  Martha ;  I  am  coming.' 
I  said,  '  I  cannot ;  my  sister  is  waiting  for  me.'  He 
then  threw  his  coat  over  his  shoulders,  and  followed 
me  out,  and  whispered,  *  Have  you  made  up  your 
mind,  Martha } '  *  Not  exactly,  sir,'  said  I ;  and  we 
parted.  I  shall  proceed  to  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
make  oath  to  the  truth  of  these  statements,  and  you 
are  at  liberty  to  make  what  use  of  them  you  may 
think  best. 

"Yours  respectfully, 

"  Martha  A.  Brotherton. 

"  Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me,  this  13th  day 
of  July,  A.D.  1842: 

"  DU   BOUFFAY  FrEMON, 

"  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  St.  Louis  County/* 


Of   •!•- 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Marriage — The  Age  for  Marrying — Seventy  and  Seventeen — Women 
privileged  to  choose  their  own  Husbands — Some  Women  make  a 
Choice — ^Joseph's  Widows — "  Serving  for  seven  Years" — **  Celes- 
tial Marriages" — Baptism  and  Marriage  for  the  Dead — Saving  one's 
Ancestors  ad  infinitum — Marrying  "for  Time  and  for  Eternity" — 
The  Register  at  Salt  Lake  City,  from  which  the  World  shall  be 
judged — Difficulties  of  *'  proxy"  Marriages — "  Proxies"  for  the 
Empress  Josephine  and  Napoleon  I. — "The  next  best  Thing" — 
Joseph's  unproductive  Polygamy — Divorce — Woman's  solitary  Pri- 
vilege— Divorce  for  ten  Dollars! — Re-marrying — "Affinity" — 
Shocking  Instance  of  self-fulfilling  a  "  Revelation" — Perverted 
Heroism — Brother  Hyde's  Argument — ^The  Woman  with  seven 
Husbands — Statistical  Facts. 

The  dominant  principle  of  Mormonism  is  marriage, 
and  the  theory  that  men  and  women  are  not  perfect 
without  each  other.  The  man  is  not  perfect  with- 
out the  woman,  nor  is  the  woman  without  the  man, 
in  the  Lord. 

Every  man  and  every  woman  must  be  married 
some  time  or  other.  They  cannot  otherwise  attain 
to  glory,  and  would  be  "  angels,"  or  servants  to  the 
Celestial  Saints.  The  woman  ought  to  be  married 
but  once  ;  the  man  may  be  married  as  often  as  he 
pleases,  if  he  can  provide  for  his  wives  and  their 
families. 

There  is  no  particular  age  specified  as  proper  for 
marriage,  but  the  younger  the  girl  is,  the  better. 
It  is  seldom  that  there  are  any  girls  married  under 
fifteen  years  of  age  ;  but  sixteen  is  a  very  sweet  age, 


1 64       WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

and  very  desirable  for  men,  themselves  ranging  in 
years  from  forty-five  to  seventy  and  over.  An  un- 
married girl  in  Utah  is  old  at  twenty,  and  it  is  rarely 
the  case  that  any  attractive  girl  passes  out  of  her 
teens  before  she  is  wedded.* 

The  boys  seldom  marry  so  early,  but  if  capable  of 
supporting  themselves,  the  accumulation  of  property 
and  experience  are  neither  very  necessary  to  becom- 
ing a  husband.  The  teachings  of  the  priesthood 
have  generally  discountenanced  prudential  prepara- 
tions that  are  common  elsewhere.  The  chief  object 
has  been  rather  to  encourage  an  increase  of  "  the 
kingdom,"  than  to  seek  the  personal  happiness  of  the 
married  pair. 

In  any  other  community,  it  would  be  remarked  if  a 
man  of  fifty,  sixty,  or  seventy  years  of  age  should  be 
paying  his  addresses  to  a  girl  of  seventeen.  In 
Utah,  there  is  no  attention  paid  to  it ;  and  not  infre- 
quently, married  men  with  several  wives  may  be  seen 
courting  and  marrying  girls  much  younger  than  their 
own  daughters.  It  is  a  great  wrong  to  the  girls. 
They  are  too  young  to  see  the  consequences  of  their 
folly  at  the  outset,  and  the  men  who  seek  them  for 
wives  are  too  selfish  to  draw  their  attention  to  the 
error. 

It  is  very  amusing  to  see  a  vain,  silly  old  man  try- 
ing to  be  young  again — dyeing  his  hair,  and  aping 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  Utah  Legislature  has  entertained 
a  bill  as  follows  :  "A  bill  has  been  offered  and  referred  to  a  commit- 
tee regulating  marriage.  It  provides  that  males  of  fifteen  years  and 
females  of  twelve  years  of  age  may  contract  marriage,  with  the  con- 
sent of  parents  or  guardians." — New -York  Herald,  Jan.  2'jth,  1872. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 65 

the  fancies  of  juvenile  courtship.  This  sight  is  any 
thing  but  rare  among  the  Mormons.  I  knew  a  man 
who  objected  to  his  daughter  being  married,  as  she 
was  only  a  few  months  over  sixteen.  The  married 
man  who  was  courting  the  young  lady,  tersely  re- 
plied to  the  father,  "  Yes,  she  is  very  young  ;  she 
is  six  months  younger  than  my  sister  whom  you  are 
courting."  The  sarcasm  of  the  answer  was  enough, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  he  got  the  daughter. 

In  the  first  years  of  polygamous  experience,  the 
elders  tried  in  their  teachings  to  give  the  institution 
of  the  patriarchs  as  favourable  an  appearance  as  pos- 
sible,  and  told  the  sisters  who  had  been  neglected, 
that  it  was  tJuir  "privilege"  to  choose  their  own 
husbands.  This  had  some  practical  results  ;  but  the 
acknowledgment  of  it  as  a  principle  has  never  been 
much  dwelt  upon  in  the  pulpit,  as  it  has  its  inconve- 
niences. 

After  the  death  of  Joseph  Smith,  something  had 
to  be  done  for  his  numerous  "  widows  ;"  and  when 
the  church  was  travelling  across  the  plains,  this 
"  privilege"  was  extended  to  them  to  "  choose"  their 
future  husbands.  Very  reluctantly  Brigham  accepted 
the  preference  of  one  of  these  "  widows,"  while  an- 
other of  them  manifested  in  a  similar  way  her  pre- 
ference for  his  counsellor — Heber. 

A  lady  called  one  day  upon  a  prominent  bishop, 
north  of  Salt  Lake  City,  whom  I  knew  very  well,  and 
sought  his  counsel  "  in  the  interest"  of  her  daughter. 
The  mother  related  that  a  young  man  wanted  to 
marry  the  daughter,  but  she  did  not  love  him  ;  she  had 
a  preference  for  a  gentleman  already  married.     What 


1 66      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

was  she  to  do  ?  That  was  the  subject  upon  which 
she  wanted  the  bishop's  counsel.  With  a  ready  an- 
swer for  every  one,  the  bishop  saw  no  difficulty. 
"  Go,"  said  he,  "  to  the  married  man,  and  tell  him 
that  your  daughter  loves  him,  and  it  is  his  duty  to 
marry  her."  The  task  was  soon  accomplished  ;  the 
kind  mother  smiled  and  blushed  a  little,  and  then 
said,  '' Bishop ft/iou  art  the  man  !"  The  bishop  could 
do  no  other  than  follow  his  own  "  counsel."  He  was 
in  comfortable  circumstances,  and  the  young  lady 
shortly  after  became  wife  number  six  or  seven  of  his 
household. 

Many  such  cases  of  the  sisters  choosing  husbands 
have  occurred,  and  sometimes  with  very  satisfactory 
results.  When  it  is  really  a  case  of  affection  on  the 
lady's  part,  and  the  selected  husband  is  a  liberally 
disposed  man,  the  affair  goes  off  as  well  as  any  mar- 
riage of  his  own  choosing ;  but  when  the  arrange- 
ment is  not  an  "  affinity"  affair,  the  lady  receives  very 
little  attention,  and  often  lives  to  repent  of  her 
choice. 

A  very  excellent  Englishwoman  is  said  to  have 
entered  Brigham's  family  as  a  domestic,  and  from  her 
devotion  to  her  faith,  and  affection  for  the  Prophet, 
it  is  related  that  she  served,  like  Jacob  in  the  house 
of  Laban,  seven  years,  to  obtain  her  choice.  She  is  a 
woman  of  good  sense,  and  illustrates,  in  her  quiet  and 
almost  solitary  life,  the  tenacity  of  affection,  even  if 
only  coldly  returned.  With  a  son  that  she  has  added 
to  the  Prophet's  family,  she  lives  apparently  con- 
tented. Another  lady  was  less  fortunate.  The 
Prophet  passed  through  the  form  of  sealing  and  regis- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 67 

tering  her  name  upon  the  "  Book  of  Life,"  but  there 
the  marriage  ended.  She  lives  in  all  the  loneliness 
of  married  spinsterhood.  Brigham  honoured  the  law 
of  "  privilege,"  and  permitted  her  to  be  called  by  his 
name. 

What  I  have  written  of  marriage  hitherto  has  only- 
been  that  which  appertained  to  this  world.  I  have 
now  to  give  the  Mormon  views  of  a  continuance  of 
this  marriage  in  the  celestial  world. 

The  Mormon  priesthood  claim  that  there  is  no 
legal  and  holy  marriage  outside  of  their  church,  and 
that  all  the  Gentiles  are,  therefore,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  living  in  sin.  If  this  is  true  of  the  present  age, 
it  must  necessarily  be  true  of  all  the  ages  that  have 
intervened,  from  the  days  of  the  fishermen  of  Galilee, 
to  the  advent  of  Joseph  Smith  and  Brigham  Young  ; 
for  the  latter  claim  that  no  true  priesthood  has  been 
upon  the  earth  till  restored  by  Peter,  James,  and 
John,  to  Joseph  Smith. 

As  all  earthly  associations  are  the  foundations  for 
eternal  institutions,  the  marital  relations  naturally 
claim  the  highest  and  first  attention  of  the  Saints. 
The  glory  of  a  Saint  in  the  world  to  come  is,  there- 
fore, predicated  upon  the  foundation  laid  here  for 
that  glory.  Woman  is  the  glory  of  man  ;  children 
are  the  glory  of  woman  ;  the  more  wives,  the  greater 
glory  to  the  man  ;  the  more  children,  the  greater 
glory  to  the  woman. 

Out  of  this  faith  comes  the  novel  doctrine  that  it 
is  not  only  the  duty  of  men  to  multiply  wives  to 
themselves  here,  but  that  it  also  devolves  upon  them 
to  see  that  all  their  relatives  who  have  died  are 


1 68         WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMV. 

placed  in  a  position  in  the  world  to  come,  where  they 
also  can  have  wives  and  children  associated  with  their 
names,  and  thus  increase  their  glory.  Believing  also 
in  the  rejuvenation  of  the  aged  beyond  the  veil,  it  is 
not  uncommon  to  learn  of  some  lady  of  sixty  win- 
ters being  "  sealed  "  to  a  brother  of  half  her  age,  and 
bearing  his  name  before  the  community. 

With  a  blooming  bride  of  seventeen  on  one  side, 
the  Mormon  elder  may  occasionally  be  seen  (though 
not  often)  at  his  family  table,  with  a  grandmotherly 
lady  at  his  other  side,  and  both  are  his  wives.  The 
younger  one  seeks  his  glory  now ;  the  other  wilij 
when  hereafter  she  is  rejuvenated,  seek  his  glory  in 
the  next  world.  These  are  matters  on  which  expli- 
citness  is  not  particularly  necessary.  It  is,  however, 
very  creditable  to  the  faith  of  a  young  Mormon  elder 
for  him  to  provide  for  the  declining  years  of  the  aged 
spinster  or  widow.  When  the  old  lady  has  money 
in  her  own  right,  she  can  literally  say  that  "  she  eats 
her  own  bread  and  wears  her  own  apparel ;"  and  it  is 
seldom  that  the  condition  of  which  I  have  written  is 
seen  without  some  such  consideration. 

With  this  explanation,  the  reader  will  readily  un- 
derstand the  doctrine,  not  only  of  Mormon  men  and 
women  being  married  themselves  for  time  and  eter- 
nity, but  they  will  also  comprehend  what  is  meant  by 
"  proxy  wives"  and  "  proxy  husbands."  For  illustra- 
tion :  a  man  and  his  wife  in  Salt  Lake  City  are  mar- 
ried by  the  priesthood  ;  they  are  married  legally — as 
"  the  Lord "  wants  it.  There  is  nothing  that  can 
separate  this  man  and  wife  in  time  and  in  eternity 
but  adultery  or  "  apostasy,"  unless  the  priesthood 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 69 

find  some  other  reason,  which  they  sometimes  have 
done. 

A  record  of  Mormon  marriages  is  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  church,  and  only  out  of  these  records 
the  world  will  be  judged.  It  is  therefore  necessary  that 
the  names  of  my  father  and  mother,  and  every  other 
person's  father  and  mother  should  be  recorded  on  the 
books  in  Salt  Lake  City  as  man  and  wife,  otherwise 
they  would  be  as  "  angels,"  strolling  about  in  the  up- 
per regions  without  any  particular  marital  relation- 
ship. Should,  however,  my  husband  and  myself 
agree  that  we  shall  be  married  as  "  proxies''  for  my 
father  and  mother,  or  for  his  father  and  mother,  then 
we  go  to  the  "Endowment  House"  and  personate  the 
dead,  each  according  to  sex,  and  that  is  recorded. 
By  this  devotion  and  care  on  our  part,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stenhouse,  the  elder,  would  then,  but  not  before,  be 
duly  entitled  to  be  husband  and  wife  in  the  other 
world.  As  Mr.  Stenhouse /^r^  had  but  one  wife,  his 
glory  would  necessarily  be  very  limited,  and  it  would 
become  the  duty  of  Mr.  Stenhouse ^/j  to  see  that  he 
had  some  extra  wives  sealed  to  him  for  his  father. 
As  a  dutiful  son,  the  living,  believing  Stenhouse 
should  see  that  his  grandfather,  great-grandfather, 
and  all  their  fathers,  right  back  to  the  first  ages  of 
Christianity,  or  even,  possibly,  as  far  back  as  old 
father  Adam,  were  secured  the  same  privileges. 

To  be  consistently  careful  of  his  progenitors,  and 
their  happiness  and  glory  in  the  world  to  come,  the 
same  attentions  and  courtesies  should  be  extended  to 
all  my  husband's  brothers,  and  to  his  uncles,  as  well 
as  to  all  my  brothers,  uncles,  etc.,  up  to  the  begin- 


I/O      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

ning  of  time.  The  mothers  are  necessarily  cared  for 
in  the  marriage  with  fathers  ;  but  all  our  sisters  and 
aunts  have  to  be  provided  for  in  the  same  way. 
They  must  all  be  married,  and  the  men  clothed  with 
the  glory  of  numerous  wives,  and  the  women  with 
the  glory  of  many  children. 

As  in  life  all  the  marriages  have  not  been  pleasant, 
it  would  be  somewhat  difficult  to  determine,  among 
our  dead,  who  wanted  to  know  each  other  then,  and 
be  reunited  in  eternal  marriage  as  they  had  been  on 
earth.  Besides  these,  difficulties  innumerable  and 
insurmountable  spring  up.  I  might  be  looking  out 
for  some  maiden  aunt  or  spinster  sister  who  had 
never  had  their  hearts  touched  by  the  tender  pas- 
sion, or  perhaps  might  have  set  their  affections  on 
some  particular  person,  and  then  to  seal  them  to  an- 
other would  be  rather  awkward.  In  all  this  it  would 
be  very  cruel  if  some  were  forgotten,  or  if  others 
should  be  united,  when  perhaps  they  had  waited  with 
anxiety  for  death  to  set  them  free. 

I  am  afraid  that  I  am  getting  lost  in  the  magni- 
tude and  extent  of  the  Mormon  obligations  for  the 
dead,  and  I  shall,  therefore,  stop  here  upon  that 
point. 

I  was  much  amused  at  learning,  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
that  a  French  lady  of  my  acquaintance  had  been 
baptized  as  "  proxy"  for  the  Empress  Josephine, 
while  her  son  had  stood  for  Napoleon  I.  How  much 
further  the  mother  and  son  carried  their  admiration 
for  the  imperial  pair,  I  know  not ;  but  it  would  be 
consistent  for  them  to  have  been  proxies  for  Joseph- 
ine and  Napoleon  in  marriage,  and  for  the  son  to  have 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      I7I 

recorded  in  the  archives  of  the  "  Endowment  House" 
that  he  had  stood  proxy  for  Napoleon  to  be  ordained 
a  Mormon  elder.  Following  that,  he  could  also  have 
had  "  sealed "  to  Napoleon  any  maiden  of  Utah,  or 
any  number  of  maidens  who  had  an  admiration  for 
the  prisoner  of  St.  Helena.* 

Illustrative  of  the  folly,  if  not  profanity,  to  which 
some  carry  this  teaching,  I  was  told  of  a  lady  who 
once  asked  Brigham  Young  if  she  could  not  be 
"  sealed  "  to  Jesus  Christ,  as  one  of  His  wives.  Brig- 
ham  replied  that  he  could  not  go  thus  far,  but  he 
would  do  the  next  best  thing,  and  that  was  to  have 
her  "sealed"  to  Joseph  Smith.  Had  the  lady  to 
whom  I  refer  been  an  ignorant  semi-savage  of  Asia 
or  Africa,  or  a  squaw  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  this 
could  readily  have  been  understood  ;  but  when  I 
assure  the  reader  that  the  lady  in  question  was  edu- 
cated in  New-England,  and  held  a  respectable  social 
position  there  before  she  embraced  Mormonism,  the 
terrible  extent  of  her  credulity  can  be  imagined.! 

Consistently  with  all   this   complication   of  mar- 

*  General  Washington  has  also  in  a  similar  way  been  kindly  cared 
for  by  the  Mormons.  Judge  Adams,  of  Springfield,  was  baptized  as 
proxy  for  him,  and  he  is  now  a  member  of  the  "  Church  and  King- 
dom'' established  by  Joseph  Smith. 

t  The  Mormon  Apostles  insist  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  polygamist ; 
that  the  sisters  Martha  and  Mary  were  two  of  his  wives,  and  that  the 
marriage  at  Cana  of  Galilee,  when  the  water  was  turned  into  wine, 
was  one  of  Christ's  bridal  feasts.  According  to  the  Mormon  faith, 
the  lady  alluded  to  above  was,  therefore,  not  so  inconsistent  in  her 
request  as  might  otherwise  be  supposed.  Yet  few  persons  can  hear 
of  such  a  desire  being  expressed,  without  considering  it  to  be  simply 
a  bold  profanity.  Had  I  not  heard  the  statement  from  the  most  rcli- 
mule  source.  I  should  not  have  even  named  it. 


1/2      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

riages,  another  distinctive  feature  in  Utah  Polygamy 
is  the  raising  up  of  children  to  the  dead.  When  one 
of  the  prominent  Mormons  died  some  years  ago,  his 
five  or  seven  wives,  with  their  families  and  property, 
passed  over  to  the  care  of  his  young  nephew — one  of 
the  Apostles.  The  nephew  had  already  two  or  three 
wives  of  his  own,  but  that  was  a  small  consideration, 
and  he  assumed  the  extra  responsibiUty.  All  the 
offspring  of  this  plural  marriage  are  the  children  of 
the  deceased,  and  are  to  be  "  claimed  "  by  him  in  the 
resurrection. 

Though  the  object  in  instituting  Polygamy  is  said 
to  have  been  the  "  raising  up  of  a  holy  seed,"  it  is 
not  a  little  surprising  that  Joseph  Smith,  through 
whom  the  revelation  is  given,  notwithstanding  his 
numerous  wives,  had  no  children  born  to  him  in 
Polygamy.  Since  his  death,  however,  his  brethren 
have  done  well  for  him,  and  his  posterity  is  nume- 
rous. One  of  the  finest  families  of  Brigham  Young 
will  one  day  pass  away  to  the  account  of  Joseph,  his 
predecessor.  The  lady  was  sealed  to  Joseph  for  time 
and  eternity,  and  she  is  therefore  wholly  his.  But 
Joseph  died  ;  and,  as  the  widow  was  young  and  hand- 
some, from  respect  to  the  dead,  Brigham  assumed 
the  responsibility  of  being  a  proxy  husband  to  her 
during  her  lifetime.  Devotion  to  the  deceased,  of 
course,  demands  that  no  love  beyond  that  of  brother- 
ly and  sisterly  affection  should  spring  up  between 
them. 

All  this  has,  theoretically,  a  very  devotional  turn  ; 
but  I  am  afraid  humanity  has  something  to  say  in  it, 
as  the  lady  in  question  has  a  very  large  family  to 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 73 

Joseph,  while  another  lady  of  Brigham's  household 
has  but  one  daughter  to  the  dead  Prophet,  and  other 
wives  of  Joseph  have  had  a  similarly  diversified  expe- 
rience. 

With  these  numerous  classifications  of  marriage, 
some  from  affection  and  others  from  necessity,  or 
faith,  or  obligation,  it  would  be  natural  to  look  for  a 
law  of  divorce  almost  as  large  and  liberal  as  that  of 
the  marriage  itself  This  is  the  case.  It  is  easy  to 
get  married  in  Utah,  and  it  is  quite  as  easy  to  get 
unmarried.  But  the  leading  actors  are  reversed. 
Men  marry  the  women  :  the  women  divorce  the  men  ; 
and  this  is  about  the  only  rational  and  just  thing 
there  is  in  connexion  with  the  Mormon  marriages. 

The  causes  of  divorce  -are  as  numerous  as  the 
ordinary  disagreement  between  individuals  ;  and  the 
facility  of  obtaining  a  divorce  leads  often  to  very 
strange  complications. 

The  first  wife  among  the  Mormons  is  not  inten- 
tionally more  privileged  than  the  twentieth  wife  ;  but 
no  first  wife  ever  forgets  that  she  is  the  legal  wife  of 
her  husband,  and  that  the  priesthood  cannot  interfere 
with  her  status.  Should  the  first  wife  have  cause  of 
complaint  and  seek  for  a  divorce,  she  applies  to  the 
courts  of  law  and  obtains  protection  and  alimony.* 

•  I  am  assured  by  a  leading  attorney  in  Salt  Lake  City  that  during 
the  last  twelve  months,  more  than  one  hundred  first  wives  have  called 
upon  him  to  enter  suit  for  divorce  and  alimony.  But  he  has  discoun- 
tenanced their  proposed  proceedings,  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  as 
he  regarded  it  as  a  very  unpleasant  business  and  not  unattended  with 
danger.  Besides  which,  he  believed  that  up  to  the  present  time  the 
situation  of  affairs  in  Utah  was  not  so  favourable  for  such  proceedings 
as  might  shortly  be  expected. 


1/4      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

All  the  other  wives  were  married  to  the  husband  by 
the  priesthood,  and  can  only  be  released  from  him 
by  the  priesthood. 

All  law  contention  is  avoided  in  the  Mormon 
divorce  cases,  and  they  are  also  unattended  with 
expense.  A  young  wife  presents  herself  at  Brigham's 
office  and  complains  of  her  husband.  Brigham 
listens.  If  he  has  any  personal  interest  in  the  absent 
husband,  he  will  probably  defer  his  decision,  and 
afford  him  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  his  own 
defence.  Should  it  be  otherwise,  and  Brigham  would 
rather  humble  the  husband  if  he  can,  he  readily  ac- 
cepts the  woman's  statement.  The  clerk  is  instruct- 
ed to  "  make  out  the  papers."  The  discontented  wife 
signs  them,  and  her  marriage  is  dissolved.  The  hus- 
band is  notified  that  he  is  "  wanted  at  the  office." 
He  goes — it  may  be  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  the  business — and  is  informed  that  his  wife 
Ignatia  had  been  there,  and  had  related  all  his 
"  brutality"  to  her,  and  his  "  shocking  neglect,"  his 
greater  preference  for  some  other  wife,  or  that  he  had 
stayed  two  days  more  in  every  week  with  his  favourite 
- — Susannah,  than  he  had  with  her  or  with  Mary  Jane, 
and  she  "  was  not  going  to  stand  it."  The  husband 
may  supplicate,  promise  better  behaviour,  or  suggest  a 
more  just  dispi)sition  of  his  hours  and  affection,  and 
then  the  signing  of  the  papers  is  deferred.  Other 
husbands  take  dissatisfied  wives  at  their  word,  thank- 
ful for  the  opportunity  of  sundering  ties  that  were 
irksome  to  both.  He  watches  the  occasion  of 
Brigham's  absence  from  the  office,  goes  round  in  a 
great  hurry,  sees  the  clerk,  asks  for  the  papers  and 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMV.      1/5 

signs  them.  He  then  hands  ten  dollars  to  the  clerk, 
and  beats  a  retreat  from  the  office  without  giving  any 
opportunity  for  repentatice,  and  rejoices  in  the  glory 
of  being  once  more  a  free  man  —  "a  one-wifed 
bachelor!" 

This  divorce  business  has  about  as  many  ludicrous 
phases  as  the  marriage  is  stamped  with  cruel  severity. 
In  the  marriage  ceremony,  the  husband  and  wife  are 
"sealed  up  unto  eternal  life."  Nothing  but  adultery 
can  unloose  those  bands.  Yet  it  frequently  occurs 
that  a  dissatisfied  wife  "gets  a  bill"  of  divorce  and 
marries  again  another  man  to  whom  she  is  "  sealed 
up"  also  to  "  eternal  life  ;"  and  cases  are  known  of 
women  being  "  sealed  up"  to  "  eternal  life"  to  three 
and  four  different  husbands.  And  after  all  this  pro- 
fessedly sacred  service  has  been  performed,  Brigham 
in  some  of  his  comical  humours  will  tell  the  people 
in  the  Tabernacle  that  "  the  divorce  is  not  worth  the 
paper  it  is  written  upon  ;  but  the  people  insist  upon 
getting  them,  and  the  ten  dollars  is  pin-money  for  my 
wives."  What  a  picture  to  contemplate  !  What  re- 
flections arise  upon  purity  !  He  first  teaches  Po- 
lygamy as  the  marital  relations  of  the  purest  and 
the  highest  in  the  heavens :  he  introduces  it  with 
the  grandest  promises  :  it  becomes  intolerable,  and 
for  peace*  sake  he  gives  divorces  and  then  gets  into 
confusion.  The  truth  is  that  Brigham  now  begins 
to  realize  that  he  has  more  on  his  hands  than  he 
knows  what  to  do  with. 

Women  are  to  be  met  with  in  Utah  with  even  a 
much  larger  married  experience  than  many  of  the 
men.     I  know  a  good-natured  soul  who  has  ha,d  four 


176      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

husbands.  I  first  knew  her  at  my  house  as  a  laun- 
dress. Ever  since  that,  whenever  I  chance  to  meet 
her,  I  expect  to  hear  something  interesting.  She 
now  lives  in  the  country,  and  only  comes  into  the 
city  about  once  a  year.  The  last  time  I  saw  her  she 
came  up  smiling  good-naturedly,  and  said — "  What 
do  you  think,  Mrs.  Stenhouse  .'*  I  have  just  seen  two 
of  my  old  husbands  !  One  I  knew  was  here,  but  I 
did  not  expect  to  see  the  other."  She  seemed  to 
look  upon  this  rencontre  as  a  cheerful  and  amusing 
incident,  and  from  her  manner  while  speaking  of  them, 
I  should  think  that  she  was  on  very  excellent  terms 
with  both.     Their  divorce  had  caused  no  bitterness. 

When  any  woman  has  not  been  seen  for  some 
length  of  time,  a  little  caution  is  necessary  in  ad- 
dressing her  by  name.  She  may  have  been  Mrs. 
Smith  when  you  last  spoke  to  her :  have  become  Mrs. 
Jones,  or  Robinson,  and  be  now  Mrs.  Smith  again ! 
I  have  generally  waited  to  hear  something  which 
might  indicate  if  any  change  had  taken  place  before 
I  would  venture  to  address  her  by  the  name  which 
she  had  borne  when  I  last  saw  her.  It  is  not  un- 
common in  Utah  for  a  wife  to  leave  her  husband, 
marry  again,  be  divorced,  and  go  back  to  her  first 
husband. 

This  changing  round  from  one  husband  to  another 
is,  however,  not  altogether  the  result  of  personal 
caprice  alone,  and  the  indelicacy  of  such  "  trading  " 
of  husbands  and  wives  cannot  be  charged  entirely  to 
the  fickleness  of  the  persons  interested.  Faith,  as 
taught  by  the  priesthood,  has  been  a  disturbing 
element  in  married  life. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 77 

Though  the  word  "  affinity"  is  not  used  by  the 
Mormons,  its  meaning  has,  in  fact,  been  often  illus- 
trated among  them.  Wives  in  Utah,  as  well  as  else- 
where, have  passed  from  one  husband  to  another  ; 
but  the  worst  of  the  matter  is,  that  in  Utah  a  divine 
revelation  is  claimed  for  these  proceedings.  In  con- 
nection with  the  "  affinity  "  doctrine  elsewhere,  the 
parties  satisfy  themselves  and  act  on  their  own  re- 
sponsibility. If  they  blunder,  and  are  punished  for 
their  mistake,  they  have  only  themselves  to  blame  ; 
but  when  "revelation"  is  claimed  as  authority  for 
what  is  done,  one  of  the  parties  is  generally  the  inno- 
cent victim  of  the  other. 

To  avoid  wounding  the  feelings  of  an  innocent  and 
excellent  lady,  I  withhold  names  ;  but  I  may  say  that 
I  know  of  a  lady  in  Salt  Lake  City  who  was  many 
years  ago  married  to  a  man  of  about  her  own  age. 
She  is  a  very  handsome  woman.  A  certain  man 
officiating  at  the  marriage  ceremony  in  the  "  Endow- 
ment House,"  is  said  to  have  remarked  to  some 
members  of  his  family  that  he  had  that  day  married 
to  another  man  a  sister  who  ought  to  have  been  his 
oivn  wife. 

As  every  word  falling  from  his  lips  is  looked  upon 
as  a  divine  "revelation,"  his  wives  very  naturally  re- 
garded what  he  now  said  in  that  light.  His  state- 
ment was  not  long  in  finding  its  way  to  the  newly 
married  wife.  She,  with  the  usual  faith  and  confi- 
dence of  the  Saints  in  all  that  is  uttered  by  him^ 
believed  what  she  heard,  and  looked  upon  her  marriage 
with  the  young  man  as  a  mistake  which  would  have 
to  be  set  right  some  day,  and  so  became  very  un- 


1 78      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

happy.  After  having  borne  two  children  to  her  hus- 
band, and  only  a  few  months  before  the  birth  of  her 
third  child,  she  became  the  wife  oi  the  ^^ great''  man! 

Terrible  as  the  trial  must  have  been  to  her  young 
husband,  he  was  forced  to  accept  the  situation,  and 
remained  in  fellowship  with  the  church  for  several 
years  afterwards.  He  is  now  amongst  the  Liberals 
of  Utah.  The  lady  is  still  young  and  very  good 
looking,  but  she  is  made  to  realize  most  keenly  that 
she  is  only  one  of  a  number  of  wives  ;  while  her 
"  priestly"  husband  is  spending  his  leisure  hours  with 
a  more  recent  favourite. 

But  this  is  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance  of  the 
kind.  One  of  the  "  Twelve  Apostles"  met  with  his 
death  from  the  hands  of  a  husband  who  considered 
himself  outraged  in  his  wife  leaving  him,  adopting  the 
new  faith,  and  marrying  the  apostle  ;  and  although" 
the .  Mormons  very  much  regretted  his  death,  the 
most  intelHgent  and  thinking  portion  of  them  felt 
that  in  the  situation  of  the  husband  they  might  have 
done  the  same  thing.  No  "  Gentile"  could  interfere 
with  a  Mormon  wife  in  Utah  to  the  same  extent 
without  being  visited  by  "judgment." 

Many  instances  could  be  given  of  ladies  leaving 
their  husbands  under  the  impression  that  they, 
though  good  men,  were  not  as  able  to  "  exalt "  them 
as  other  men  in  the  priesthood.  Two  ladies  in  Salt 
Lake,  whom  I  know  and  have  already  alluded  to, 
while  they  were  in  Nauvoo.  became  the  sealed  wives 
of  Joseph  Smith  and  yet  still  maintained  their  rela- 
tionship to  their  own  husbands.  This  is  very  revolt- 
ing, and  exhibits  to  what  extremes  faith  will  some4:imes 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 79 

conduct  people.  These  ladies  to-day  think  that  that 
which  the  world  would  universally  condemn  was  an 
act  of  the  noblest  heroism.  Their  names,  if  printed 
here,  would  perfectly  astonish  many  who  personally 
know  and  respect  them.  I  do*  not  doubt  for  a  mo- 
ment that  they  conscientiously  thought  that  they 
were  worthy  of  the  highest  honor  for  believing  the 
"  revelation"  of  "  the  Lord,"  through  "  His  servant," 
and  accepting  the  position  of  handmaids  to  "  the 
Anointed." 

Enough  has  been  written  already  to  set  the  most 
devoted  Saint  thinking  over  the  crooked  paths  of 
Polygamy.  I  have  not  attempted  to  enter  into  any 
argument  hitherto,  but  I  think  I  may  venture  to  con- 
clude this  chapter  with  a  word  to  Brother  Hyde  about 
his  statement  justifying  the  practice. 

"  Brother  "  Orson  puts  forth  perhaps  the  best  argu- 
ment that  has  ever  been  given  in  its  favour.  But  let 
us  see  what  this  argument  is.     He  says : 

"  Some  man  will  perhaps  marry  a  wife  of  his  youth. 
She  dies.  He  loved  her  as  he  loves  himself,  and  her 
memory  ever  lingers  about  his  heart.  He  marries 
another,  and  she  dies,  and  he  loved  her  equally  as 
well.  He  marries  a  third,  and  so  on,  and  he  loved 
them  all.  By-and-by  he  dies,  and  he  dies  with  de- 
voted affection  and  love  to  them  all.  Now,  in  the 
resurrection,  which  of  these  wives  shall  he  claim  ? 
There  is  no  difference  in  his  love  to  any  of  them  ; 
and  they  have  all,  perhaps,  borne  children  to  him. 
He  loves  the  children  of  one  mother  as  well  as  the 
children  of  another.  What  say  you }  Which  shall 
he  have  in  the  resurrection  }     Why,  let  him   have 


l80      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

the  whole  of  them  ;  to  whom  are  they  more  nearly- 
allied  ? 

"  There  is  a  case  opposite  to  this,  where  a  woman 
married  a  husband,  and  he  died,  and  so  on,  until  she 
had  been  married  to  seven  husbands  ;  and  then  she 
also  died.  The  question  was  asked  the  Saviour — 
*  Whose  wife  will  she  be  in  the  resurrection,  for  they 
all  had  her  V  A  curious  answer  was  returned — *  In 
the  resurrection  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage  ;  but  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven/  " 

Brother  Hyde  appears  willing  that  the  woman  with 
her  seven  husbands  should  be  "  as  the  angels" — what- 
ever that  condition  may  be  ;  but  he  would  rather 
himself  decide  the  fate  of  his  own  sex,  and  he  very 
generously  says  of  the  mail  with  seven  wives,  "  Let 
him  have  them  all  ;  to  whom  are  they  '  nearer'  allied  ?" 
Be  just.  Brother  Hyde,  and  allow  to  the  poor  woman 
who  has  had  seven  husbands  the  whole  of  them  :  who 
deserves  them  better  ?  She  might  similarly  have 
loved  all  her  husbands  ;  and  if  the  argument  is  good 
for  the  man,  it  is  good  for  the  woman.  Why  should 
she  not  be  permitted  to  have  them  all  in  the  other 
world,  instead  of  being  compelled  to  become  "an 
angel".? 

The  question  arises  in  my  mind — If  all  these  seven 
brethren  are  faithful  members  of  the  church,  and  if 
their  only  chance  of  glory  and  "  exaltation  in  heaven" 
consists  in  the  number  of  wives  and  children  which 
each  has,  why  should  the  unfortunate  six  be  sentenced 
to  be  kept  out  in  the  cold — wifeless,  and  with  only  a 
faint  taste  of  the  bliss  of  Paradise  t  Why,  also,  should 
only  one  be  favoured  }  And,  then,  which  ought  to  be 
that  one  ! 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 


I8l 


It  is,  I  think,  very  evident  that  Brother  Hyde  ex- 
pressed only  the  desires  of  his  poor,  weak,  erring 
nature  when  he  said — "  Let  him  have  them  all,  to  be 
sure !" 

Brother  Hyde  has  provoked  statistics.  The  women 
of  Utah  who  have  listened  to  so  many  sermons  in  the 
Tabernacle,  about  the  women  so  far  outnumbering 
the  men  in  the  world,  and  hence  the  necessity  of 
Polygamy,  so  that  every  woman  should  have  a  hus- 
band, will  be  interested  in  the  perusal  of  the  follow- 
ing table,  which  certainly  does  not  prove  the  as- 
sertion. 

TABLE 

OF  MALE   AND   FEMALE   POPULATION  OF  THE  TERRITORY  OF  UTAH   IN   187O. 


Counties. 


Males. 


Females. 


Total. 


9 
10 
II 
12 
>3 
14 

!i 

18 

19 
20 
21 


Beaver 

Box  Elder.. 

Cache 

Davis 

Iron , 

Juab 

Kane 

Millard 

Morgan. 

Piute , 

Rich 

Rio  Virgin.. 
Salt  Lake  ... 
San  Pete..-. 

Sevier 

Summit-... , 

Tooele 

Utah 

Wahsatch . . . 
Washington . 
Weber 


lOIO 

2842 
4068 
2232 
1123 
1027 
776 
1429 

995 

69 

1020 

250 
9019 
3274 
19 
1349 
1159 
6174 

642 
1532 
4112 


997 
2013 
4161 
2227 

1154 
1007 

m 
1324 
977 
13 
935 
200 

9318 
3512 

T^x 
1018 
6029 
602 
1532 
3746 


2007 

485s 
8229 

4459 

-2277 

2034 

1513 

2753 

.  1972 

82 

1955 

450 

6786 

19 
2512 
2177 
12,203 
1244 
3064 
7858 


Total. 


44,121 


42,665 


86,786 


In  the  above  table,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  Census  Bureau  at 
Washington,  the  reader  will  perceive  that  in  polygamous  Utah  there 
arc  two  thousand  and  fifty-six  more  males  than  females  I 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Domestic  Life  in  Polygamy — Management  of  Families — Separate 
"Homes — Half  a  dozen  Wives  under  one  Roof — Internal  Arrange- 
ments—The "  Odd  Day"  for  the  first  Wife—"  Generosity"— How 
six  Wives  are  visited — The  Misery  of  poor  Polygamists — The  great- 
er Misery  in  a  wealthy  House — "  The  Kingdom" — The  Tale  of  the 
Doors  and  Windows — Fruitless  good  Intentions — Illustrative  In- 
stance of  the  Effects  of  Polygamy  and  Monogamy — An  economical 
Wife,  and  her  Object — Wives  in  various  Places — Utilizing  the  Ser- 
vices of  Wives — A  Husband's  Difficulties — Brigham  Young — His 
** Homes" — Mrs.  Young:  Nineteen  of  her! — ^Wives  and 
**  proxy"  Wives — The  Bee-Hive  House — The  Lion  House — Six 
other  Houses — Domestic  Relations — Brigham's  Favourite — The 
Prophet  in  the  Ball-Room — His  Proscenium  Box  at  the  Theatre- 
Delusion  of  Utah  Women — Can  this  be  from  God  ? 

In  every  conversation  upon  Polygamy  in  Utah,  the 
first  question  usually  asked  is,  "  How  are  the  women 
managed  ?  do  they  all  live  together — or  how  ?" 

There  is  no  fixed  principle  regulating  men  in  the 
management  of  their  families.  Every  one  is  at  liber- 
ty to  do  as  he  thinks  best  ;  and,  with  the  greatest 
diversity  of  judgment  and  circumstances,  there  are 
scarcely  two  families  alike.  Where  the  husband  is 
wealthy,  separate  homes  are  generally  provided  for 
the  wives.  Still,  some  wealthy  men  have  all  their 
families  together  under  the  same  roof  When  this  is 
the  case,  if  the  wives  number  half  a  dozen  or  more, 
the  "  living"  arrangements  are  ordered  with  a  view  to 
economy.  If  there  is  harmony  in  the  household, 
some  deference  may  be  paid  to  the-  first  wife,  and 


,^  oar  . 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 83 

perhaps  she  may  be  excused  from  part  of  the  do- 
mestic duties  ;  but  as  a  general  thing,  all  the  wives 
take  week  and  week  about  in  the  management  of  the 
house.  The  work  of  the  kitchen,  the  laundry,  etc.,  is 
done  by  hired  "  help." 

In  such  a  house  there  is  a  common  dining-room, 
large  enough  to  seat  the  wives  and  the  eldest  and 
youngest  children.  Of  course  the  table  is  often  not 
large  enough  for  all  the  children,  and  then  there  is  a 
second  table  for  the  others.  In  such  an  establish- 
ment privacy  is  unknown.  Each  lady,  however,  has 
her  own  apartment. 

In  a  very  large  house,  with  many  wives,  there  is 
greater  safety  and  peace  for  the  husband  than  in  a 
small  house,  with  only  two  wives.  When  there  are 
only  two  apartments,  the  husband  is  supposed  to  be 
in  the  one  or  in  the  other  ;  and  if  there  is  any  dispo- 
sition to  be  bitter,  the  occupied  room  at  once  fur- 
nishes the  object  for  the  attack  from  the  vacant  room. 
In  a  large  house,  there  are  some  advantages.  The 
whereabouts  of  the  husband  is  not  so  easily  discover- 
ed, and  the  unhappy  or  jealous  wife  is  at  a  loss  to 
know  on  whom  she  should  vent  her  ire.  On  this 
account,  even  men  of  small  means  prefer  to  have 
three  wives  instead  of  two,  as  the  jealousy  is  then 
divided,  and  the  wives  do  not  well  know  which  of  the 
two  others  is  her  greatest  enemy. 

The  husband  who  provides  separate  homes  for  his 
wives  has  to  divide  his  time  between  them.  Some 
men  go  from  house  to  house,  spending  a  day  with 
one  wife  and  a  day  with  another,  and  so  on  until  he 
has  visited  them  all.     Then  he  begins  again  where 


184      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

he  first  set  out,  and  travels  over  the  same  road  as 
before. 

Where  the  wives  are  not  more  than  three  in  num- 
ber, each  wife  generally  has  the  society  of  her  lord 
for  two  days  in  each  week  ;  arKl  when  the  husband 
desires  to  show  any  preference  to  his  first  wife,  the 
odd  day  in  the  seven  is  accorded  to  her,  and  this 
is  rarely  objected  to ;  but  not  infrequently  the  ex- 
tra day  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  youngest  and  last  wife 
— this  very  pious  and  impartial  man  justifying  his 
preference  by  a  kindly  word  to  his  wives  about  their 
all  having  had  "  their  day,"  and  that  it  was  nothing 
but  right  that  the  young  bride  should  have  "her  day" 
also.  To  such  a  delicate  appeal  to  their  generosity, 
and  to  such  an  exhibition  of  his  manifest  disinterest- 
edness, and  desire  to  be  just,  these  loving  wives 
could  of  course  make  but  little  objection  ! 

A  house  with  two  wings  is  very  popular  among 
the  men  with  two  wives.  The  centre  door  opens 
into  the  parlour,  which  serves  for  the  reception  of 
visitors  to  both  families.  Two  doors  are  sure  to  be 
seen — one  to  the  right,  another  to  the  left,  conduct- 
ing to  the  family  apartments  of  each  wife.  The  hus- 
band spends  one  week  on  one  side  of  the  house,  and 
the  following  week  he  goes  to  the  other  side  of  the 
house  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  he  keeps  trotting  from 
one  side  to  the  other  every  day,  to  preserve  peace  in 
his  family. 

I  have  in  my  mind  a  prominent  man  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  who  is  the  husband  of  half  a  dozen  wives  ;  he 
divides  his  time  after  this  fashion  :  The  first  week, 
he  stays  with  the  first  wife  ;  the  next  week  he  is  with 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      -I85 

the  second  ;  then  he  goes  back  again  to  the  first  wife 
for  another  week.  He  then  passes  the  fourth  week 
with  the  third  wife,  and  back  he  goes  again  to  the 
first  wife,  and  so  on  forward  and  backward,  until  he 
has  blessed  them  all  with  his  presence.  By  this 
arrangement,  the  first  wife  has  the  largest  share  of 
her  husband's  society.  The  truth,  however,  requires 
that  I  should  state  that  the  last  wife  in  this  particu- 
lar family  was  a  young  and  very  good-looking  girl, 
and  she  resided  with  the  first  wife.  Thus  while  the 
husband  was  showing  his  devotion  to  his  first  wife, 
he  was  rewarded  by  the  society  of  his  younger  one. 
The  other  wives  only  got  a  week  of  his  society  in 
about  every  eleven  weeks  ;  they  have  thus  each  about 
five  weeks  of  his  society  in  every  year. 

When  abundant  wealth  can  supply  all  the  wants 
of  numerous  wives  and  children,  and  furnish  every 
accommodation  that  a  growing  family  demands,  much 
of  the  jealousy  and  ill-feeling  so  common  to  Polyga- 
my can  in  some  degree  be  avoided.  But  when  poor 
men  have  families  growing  up  in  some  old,  dilapidated 
house,  and  huddled  together,  it  is  a  very  painful  ex- 
perience. Polygamy  with  riches  is  bad  enough ; 
but  Polygamy  with  poverty  is  terrible. 

It  is  said  that  many  men  in  Utah  have  entered 
into  polygamic  life  with  two  wives  under  one  roof, 
and  with  but  a  very  doubtful  partitton  in  the  bed- 
room. But  even  for  this  those  poor  people  were 
hardly  to  be  blamed.  "  Build  up  the  kingdom  !  build 
up  the  kingdom !"  has  been  drummed  into  their 
ears  till  all  good  sense  and  propriety  were  driven  out 
of  their  heads.     It  is  very  common,  however,  to  see 


1 86      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

families  of  two  or  three  wives  living  together  in  one 
small  house — the  women  with  separate  bed-rooms, 
but  with  only  one  kitchen  to  accommodate  them  all, 
and  with  one  room  that  serves  as  dining-room  and 
parlour — all  for  "  the  Kingdom's  "  sake  * 

A  row  of  doors  and  windows  may  be  seen  in  every 
settlement  in  Utah,  and  even  still  in  Salt  Lake  City 
they  may  be  noticed.  To  each  door  and  window 
there  was  a  wife,  a  fire-place,  a  bedstead,  three  chairs, 
and  a  table.  When  the  family  of  either  wife  increased 
and  required  more  room,  a  shed  would  be  added  be- 
hind. This  was  "celestial"  marriage  in  Utah.  Yet 
I  have  known  more  misery  to  exist  in  a  handsome 
residence,  and  more  ill-feeling  between  two  wives 
rolling  in  abundance  there,  than  probably  was  ever 
felt  in  some  of  those  mud-roofed  cottages  of  doors 
and  windows  where  half  a  dozen  wives  resided. 

Poverty  is  ill  to  bear  in  Polygamy.  It  is  a  terrible 
physical  affliction,  and  develops  the  lowest  feelings 
in  both  women  and  children,  who  are  ever  afraid  that 
other  wives  and  their  children  are  getting  more  than 

*  I  have  frequently  mentioned  in  this  work  the  word  "Kingdom." 
To  my  "Gentile"  readers,  this  expression  will  probably  not  be  very 
clear,  and  it  is  only  right  that  I  should  give  a  word  of  explanation. 
The  Mormon  doctrine  is,  that  in  the  other  world,  a  man's  children 
and  descendants  will  form  his  "Kingdom."  Hence  it  is  that  they 
are  anxious  to  have  numerous  families,  as  the  more  children  a  man 
has,  the  greater  will  be  his  power  and  glory  hereafter,  as  their  patri- 
arch and  monarch.  A  knowledge  of  this  doctrine  will  give  the  reader 
a  better  insight  into  much  that  has  been  written,  and  will  explain 
why  it  is  that  Polygamy  has  taken  such  hold  upon  the  minds  of  the 
Mormon  people,  and  how  natural  it  is  that  the  idea  of  a  future  **  king- 
dom," if  once  beheved,  should  enter  so  deeply  into  their  thoughts 
and  language,  and  so  largely  influence  the  practice  of  their  lives. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 8/ 

their  share  of  bread,  potatoes,  and  molasses — the 
staples  of  such  a  home — but  in  the  houses  of  the 
rich,  with  every  thing  in  abundance  at  hand,  it  is 
there  that  the  green-eyed  monster — jealousy,  has  the 
fullest  rein.  The  mind,  thus  unoccupied  with  the 
cares  of  providing  for  a  home,  is  the  more  at  liberty  to 
count  the  hours  of  a  husband's  absence,  to  brood  over 
the  remembrance  of  the  last  kind  look  which  he  gave 
to  the  other,  or  to  note  the  more  delicate  shade  of  the 
last  silk  dress,  or  the  richer  shawl,  which  she  did  not 
get.  I  have  seen  such  women  ;  I  have  heard  them 
confidentially  tell  their  woes  ;  and  I  have  watched 
them  pine  away  to  that  physical  weakness  which 
makes  life  a  burden. 

Possibly  the  other  lady  was  innocent  of  ever  doing 
any  thing  intentionally  wrong,  and  quite  as  likely,  too, 
the  lord  of  the  mansion  was  as  careful  as  man  could 
be  to  guard  his  tongue,  to  control  his  eyes,  and  to 
measure  all  his  acts,  and  knew  not  why  his  wife 
should  pine  and  always  have  her  headaches  and  re- 
tire to  her  own  apartment.  With,  or  without  cause, 
the  sensitive  woman  is  afflicted,  and  not  infrequently 
she  it  is  who  suffers  most  who  has  the  most  attention. 
One  kind,  insinuating  glance  of  the  husband  to  the 
other  wife  obliterates  from  the  afflicted  one's  memory 
the  ten  times  greater  acts  of  kindness  that  he  has 
shown  to  her.  All  is  forgotten  in  an  instant ;  the 
waters  of  Lethe  pass  over  the  tablets  of  her  memory, 
and  the  recollections  of  the  plcasantcst  hours  of  her 
life  are  washed  away  for  ever. 

The  effects  of  Polygamy  are  singularly  illustrated 
in  the  appearance  and  condition  of  two  sisters  (twins) 


1 88      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

who  reside  in  Salt  Lake  City.  The  contrast  between 
the  two  ladies  is  very  striking,  although  in  many  re- 
spects they  resemble  each  other  so  strongly  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  even  for  their  most  intimate  friends 
to  distinguish  the  one  from  the  other  when  apart. 
Sometimes  even  their  husbands  have  ludicrously 
mistaken  them.  One  of  these  ladies  is  the  wife  of  a 
liberal,  kind-hearted  man,  but  he  is  a  Polygamist,  and 
has  three  other  wives  besides  herself.  The  other 
sister  is  the  wife  of  a  monogamist ;  and,  of  course,  is 
the  sole  mistress  of  his  heart's  affections. 

When,  however,  the  sisters  are  together,  a  marked 
dissimilarity  can  be  observed  between  them.  The 
wife  of  the  Polygamist — good-hearted  man,  as  he  is 
— has  a  touching  look  of  care  and  sorrow  constantly 
dwelling  upon  her  features,  for  she  has  but  a  share 
in  her  husband's  love.  The  wife  of  the  mono- 
gamist has  no  such  sad  expression  on  //^r  face  ;  for 
small  as  her  husband's  heart  may  be,  she  knows  that 
she  alofte  rules  therein — its  sole  queen  and  mistress. 

I  knew  two  wives — very  pleasant  ladies  and  natu- 
rally kind-hearted — who  tried  the  Polygamic  life  in 
its  varied  phases.  They  were  unhappy  together  and 
they  separated,  and  tried  the  experiment  of  living  in 
different  parts  of  the  city.  That  was,  however,  still 
worse  than  before.  When  the  ladies  were  both  living 
together,  either  lady  could  at  once  see  whether  her 
husband's  hat  and  overcoat  were  in  the  hall ;  but  when 
he  had  a  second  home,  he  was  gone  entirely,  and  no 
trace  of  him  was  left  behind.  When  both  were  in 
one  house,  prudence  might  suggest  to  the  husband 
the  number  of  the  absent  hours  ;    but  out  of  the 


UlTITL..  .17 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 8 


liouse,  he  might  find  a  thousand  business  excuses  for 
a  prolonged  absence  ;  none  of  which  the  suffering 
one  would  believe  implicitly.  Besides,  when  all 
together,  in  the  same  house,  one  table  served  for  both 
wives,  and  the  husband  could  not,  of  course,  "  get  a 
better  dinner  in  one  house  than  in  the  other." 

Women  naturally  seek  the  happiness  of  their  hus- 
band, even  though  they  may  be  bitter  against  him 
and  Polygamy.  They  try  to  preserve  his  favour  and 
make  their  homes  as  attractive  as  possible,  so  that  he 
may  always  be  pleased  when  he  comes  to  see  them. 
Out  of  their  frequently  poor  allowances  for  the  main- 
tenance of  their  families,  and  what  their  own  labour 
may  add  thereto,  some  women  try  to  be  exceedingly 
economical  while  they  are  living  by  themselves,  so 
that  when  it  comes  to  "their  turn"  to  receive  the  hus- 
band, he  may  be  well  entertained.  I  have  one  lady 
in  view  who  earned  her  husband's  flattering  opinion 
for  economy  in  this  way,  and  by  some  unlooked  for 
change  in  his  family,  this  good  opinion  has  been  of 
some  service  to  her. 

That  is  the  course  adopted  by  a  woman  of  years 
and  experience.  Young  and  thoughtless  wives  some- 
times try  the  opposite  experiment,  and  when  their 
husbands  come  to  see  them  they  are  always  poor, 
suffering — always  needy  ;  they  never  have  enough  of 
any  thing.  The  effort  at  creating  sympathy  is  not 
half  as  successful  as  the  pleasant  home  and  smiling 
welcome  of  more  experienced  ladies.  Many  a  woman 
has  missed  her  opportunity  from  want  of  a  proper 
knowledge  of  human  nature  and  good  cookery. 

Some  of  the  leading  men  have  wives  in  different 


190      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

parts  of  the  Territory  ;  which  is,  of  course,  very  con- 
venient when  travelling.  It  is  quite  common  to  find 
a  man  with  one  family  in  the  city  and  another  a  few 
miles  in  the  country.  The  city  residence  is  necessary 
in  the  pursuit  of  business,  while  the  country  wife 
overlooks  the  farm  and  dairy. 

Many  of  the  patriarchs  in  the  country  are  very 
judicious  in  their  selection  of  wives — that  is,  if  they 
have  comfortable  homes.  I  remember  many  years 
ago  reading  a  letter  in  a  newspaper  from  a  "  brother" 
in  the  south  of  Utah.  He  had  one  who  was  a  good 
housewife,  another  who  was  a  good  weaver,  another 
was  a  good  seamstress  ;  and  all  his  ambition  then 
was  to  find  another  wife  who  could  teach  the  children. 

Some  men  are  not  quite  so  fortunate  in  their  patri- 
archal relations.  They  do  not  seem  to  know  how  to 
dispose  of  themselves  and  keep  peace  in  their  fami- 
lies. In  the  language  of  the  teachers,  these  are 
"  weak  men,  who  fall  in  love  with  one  wife,  and  are 
not  smart  enough  to  conceal  it  from  the  others." 
Perhaps  something  occurs  in  course  of  time  to  break 
in  upon  his  sweet  communion  with  the  favourite,  and 
he  leaves  her  and  goes  to  another  wife.  Then  the 
unfortunate  patriarch  has  the  favourite's  indignation 
added  to  the  complaints. of  the  other  wives,  and  his 
latter  condition  is  worst  of  all.  No  amount  of  "  teach- 
ing" in  the  world  would  make  such  a  family  happy. 
Women  are  argus-eyed,  and  nothing  can  escape  their 
notice. 

No  man  with  weaknesses  should  ever  think  of  Po- 
lygamy. 

Of  the  privacy  of  Brigham  Young  as  a  man,  I  shall 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      I9I 

not  write — no,  not  a  word.  His  wives  and  children 
are  as  sacred  to  me  as  I  would  desire  my»own  family 
to  be  with  the  public.  But  as  the  head  of  a  system,  I 
have  no  scruples  to  speak  of  him,  and  of  the  example 
of  "celestial  marriage"  which  he  sets  before  the 
world.  He  cannot  consistently  object,  as  he  has  re- 
peatedly told  the  people  to  follow  him  as  he  follows 
Christ ;  and  as  he  permits  no  one  to  question  him, 
the  natural  conclusion  is  that  his  family  is  the  pattern 
of  the  patriarchal  order. 

Very  extravagant  statements  have  been  published 
of  the  number  of  Brigham  Young  s  wives  and  chil- 
dren. How  many  he  has  had  from  the  time  he 
courted  Miss  Martha  Brotherton  until  now,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  estimate.  Some  of  his  wives  are  dead  ; 
others  have  left  him,  and  many  probably  have  been 
sealed  to  him  who  strayed  away  like  those  of  Brother 
Heber,  and  he  knew  not  whither  they  went. 

Of  Brigham's  present  family  I  am  personally  ac- 
quainted with  nineteen  of  his  wives.  Before  he  was 
a  Mormon,  he  had  a  wife  and  family,  but  of  that  lady 
I  know  nothing.     Two  of  her  daughters  are  in  Utah. 

His  Mormon  family  begins  with  his  first,  legal, 
wife,  who  is  still  living — Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Angel 
Young.  She  is  probably  about  his  own  age,  but  is 
physically  less  preserved,  and  looks  much  older.  She 
is  a  most  excellent  and  amiable  lady,  and  bears  traces 
of  having  had  her  full  share  of  earthly  troubles.  She 
is  the  mother  of  his  three  prominent  sons,  Joseph 
A. ;  Brigham,  Jr.  ;  John  W.,  and  two  daughters — 
Alice  and  Luna.  Each  of  the  sons  has  three  wives. 
The  first  daughter  is  the  third  of  four  wives  in  a 


192 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 


polygamic  household.  The  other  daughter  is  the 
first  wife  of,  a  young  man,  and  has  for  a  companion 
wife  her  father's  daughter  by  another  mother.  The 
eldest  daughter,  Alice,  has  also  her  half-sister  as  an 
associate  wife  in  her  husband's  household. 
The  legal  wife  of  Brigham  is  : 
I.  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Angel 


II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 


;;} 


(sisters) , 


His  Polygamic  Wives  are  : 
Mrs.  Clara  Decker, 
Mrs.  Lucy  Decker, 

Mrs.  Emeline  Free 

Mrs.  Harriet  Cook 

Mrs.  Twiss 

Mrs.  Eliza  Burgess 

Mrs.  Susan  Snively 

Mrs.  Lucy  Bigelow 

Mrs.  Harriet  Barney  Seagers. 

Mrs.  Martha  Bowker , 

Mrs.  Margaret  Pierce 

Mrs.  Amelia  Folsom , 

Mrs.  Mary  Van  Cott  Cobb 

Mrs.  Eliza  Ann  Jay  Webb. . . . 


His  "  Proxy"  Wives  are  : 

XVI.  Mrs.  Emily  Partridge. 

XVII.  Mrs.  Zina  D.  Huntington  Jacobs 

XVin.  Miss  Eliza  R.  Snow 

[These  were  formerly  "  sealed  "  to  Joseph 
Smith,  and  are  now  "  Proxy"  wives  to 
Brigham.] 

Also — 
XIX.  Mrs.  Augusta  Cobb 

[who  was  "  sealed  "  to  Joseph  Smith  since 
his  death.] 

Besides  these,  there  may  very  likely  be  other  ladies 


Young, 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 93 

**  sealed  "  to  Brigham,  but  I  myself  know  personally 
no  more  than  the  above  named. 

Brigham's  first  home  in  Utah  was  in  a  little  cot- 
tage called  "  The  White  House,"  which  every  visitor 
to  Salt  Lake  will  notice  on  the  hill-side,  north  of 
"  The  Eagle  Gate."  In  that  house  Mrs.  Young,  the 
first,  is  domiciled.  She  is  much  loved  by  her  chil- 
dren, and  with  their  attention  and  affection,  this  good 
old  lady  probably  long  ago  became  indifferent  to  the 
additions  that  have  been  made  to  her  husband's  do- 
minions. She  is  much  beloved  by  the  people  for  her 
own  worth. 

In  the  "  Bee-Hive  House,"  the  official  residence  of 
Governor  Young,  adjoining  his  office  on  the  east, 
there  is  but  one  lady  occupant — Mrs.  Lucy  Decker 
Young.  There  is  a  privacy  about  this  dwelling  that 
no  one  invades.  It  is  here  that  the  Prophet  has  his 
own  private  bed-room,  and  at  this  house  he  breakfasts 
— when  he  has  been  at  home  over  night. 

In  the  "  Lion  House" — a  very  long,  narrow  build- 
ing on  the  west  of  the  business  office — the  larger  num- 
ber of  his  wives  reside.  The  basement  floor  is  used 
for  kitchen,  dining-room,  pantry,  and  a  general  re- 
ceptacle for  the  odds  and  ends  of  a  large  family.  The 
first  floor  has  a  passage  up  the  centre,  where  proba- 
bly half  a  dozen  of  the  wives  with  small  families  have 
their  rooms  on  the  right-hand  side.  On  the  left,  at 
the  entrance,  is  the  parlour,  and  the  other  rooms  on 
that  side  are  occupied  by  mothers  with  larger  fami- 
lies, and  ladies  who  have  a  little  more  than  ordinary 
attention.  The  upper  floor  is  divided  into  twenty 
square  bed-rooms. 


o*- 


194      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

There  is  no  extravagance  in  the  furniture  of  the 
homes  of  these  wives,  but  they  are  comfortable  and 
kept  neat  and  clean. 

It  is  in  this  "  Lion  House"  where  he  usually  dines 
at  three  p.m.  Mrs.  Twiss  Young  is  housekeeper, 
and  excellently  fitted  for  the  duties  of  that  position. 
At  three  punctually  the  bell  rings,  and  the  mothers, 
with  their  children,  move  down  to  the  dining-room, 
and  all  are  seated  at  a  very  long  table,  that  has  had 
to  be  lengthened  by  turning  round  at  the  end  of  the 
room.  Each  mother  has  her  children  around  her. 
Brigham  sits  at  the  head  of  the  table,  with  his  fa- 
vourite— when  in  the  house — vis-a-vis,  or  on  his  left, 
and  any  visitor  sits  on  his  right  hand.  The  repast  is 
frugal,  but  ample.  Brigham  is  a  sober  and  exceed- 
ingly economical  man.  This  is  the  first  time  he  sees 
his  family. 

In  the  evening,  at  seven  o'clock,  the  bell  again 
rings,  and  the  mothers  and  the  children  fill  the  sides 
and  ends  of  the  parlour.  When  they  are  all  seated, 
the  Patriarch  enters,  takes  his  seat  by  the  parlour 
table,  and  chats  quietly  with  those  who  may  go  in 
with  him  to  prayers.  When  all  the  members  of  the 
family  are  assembled,  the  door  is  closed  ;  they  kneel, 
and  he  prays  for  all — for  Zion,  and  for  the  "  King- 
dom." That  is  the  last  they  see  of  him,  unless  they 
seek  him  privately. 

Outside  of  the  wall  that  surrounds  these  houses  he 
has  wives  occupying  six  other  houses.  One  other 
wife  is  far  down  South,  another  is  at  the  farm,  and 
one  "  proxy"  wife  lives  with  her  son-in-law. 

The  wives  of  Brigham  have  all  good  homes,  have 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 95 

the  necessaries  of  life,  and  are  comfortably,  respect- 
ably, and  neatly  dressed.  With  the  exception  of  the 
one  who  is  called  his  "  favourite,"  and  her  growing 
rival,  there  is  no  indication  of  extravagance  among 
them. 

Up  to  an  addition  of  late  years,  the  community 
heard  nothing  of  his  family  but  what  was  pleasant 
and  creditable  to  them.  His  wives  are  kind  and 
faithful  mothers,  seeking  to  live  the  religion  they 
have  been  taught,  and  ambitious  to  increase  the 
glory  of  their  "  lord."  They  are  women  who  would 
be  regarded  with  respect  in  the  most  moral  commu- 
nity of  any  country ;  and  are  as  far  from  resembling 
the  Sultanas  of  an  Eastern  harem  as  one  thing  can 
be  different  from  another.  Most  of  them  are  women- 
of  devout  faith.  I  know  them  all  personally — some 
of  them  intimately ;  and,  while  I  have  heard  from 
some,  with  heavy  hearts,  of  their  difficulties  in  bear- 
ing "  the  cross"  which  all  Mormon  women  have  to 
carry,  they  have  tried,  I  know,  to  be  submissive,  and 
I  think  it  is  due  to  them  that  I  should  make  the  pre- 
sent recognition  of  their  goodness  of  disposition  and 
purity  of  soul. 

With  his  family  he  is  said  to  be  kind  ;  but  it  is 
supposed  to  be  more  the  awe  which  his  position  as 
Prophet  inspires,  than  the  love  which  they  bear  him 
as  a  man,  which  renders  him  successful  in  managing 
them.  At  the  .same  time,  that  sweet  familiarity 
is  destroyed  which  should  exist  between  husband 
and  wife,  father  and  children.  He  aims  to  be  looked 
upon  more  as  a  ruler  than  as  the  head  of  a  family. 

With  such  a  number  of  wives,  he  cannot  possibly 


ig6  WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

wait  upon  them  in  visiting,  frequenting  the  ball-room, 
or  places  of  public  entertainment.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  his  reigning  favourite,  whoever  she  may  hap- 
pen for  the  time  to  be,  no  one  expects  his  attentions. 
At  the  theatre,  which  is  his  own,  a  full  number  of 
seats  are  reserved,  and  his  wives  attend  when  they 
please  or  they  remain  at  home.  They  sit  in  the  body 
of  the  parquette,  among  the  rest  of  the  people ;  but 
one  of  the  two  proscenium  boxes  is  reserved  for  him, 
and  beside  him  is  a  chair  for  the  favourite  Amelia. 

When  he  goes  to  the  ball-room,  the  same  special 
attention  is  manifest.  He  dances  first  with  the  fa- 
vourite, and,  if  half  a  dozen  more  of  his  wives  have 
accompanied  them,  he  will  dance  with  each  of  them 
once  in  the  course  of  the  evening  ;  but  with  the  fa- 
vourite he  dances  as  frequently  as  any  youth  in  the 
ball-room  with  his  first  maiden  love.  The  Apostles 
and  leading  men  of  the  community,  who  dance  atten- 
dance upon  him  and  desire  his  favour,  are  sure  to 
seek  the  pleasure  of  her  hand  and  place  her  in  the 
same  cotillion  with  Brigham,  who  is  thus  able  all  the 
evening  to  enjoy  her  company. 

This  favouritism  is  ill-looked  upon  by  the  Saints, 
and,  in  their  estimation,  savours  more  of  Turkey  than 
of  the  "  Celestial  Kingdom."  Were  there  greater 
devotion,  or  greater  virtue  in  her,  the  people  might 
find  some  argument  for  his  defence ;  but  the  cir- 
cumstance, whenever  alluded  to  in  society,  is  gene- 
rally answered  with  a  smile  or  a  shrug  of  the  shoul- 
ders. 

Some  Apostles  look  with  pain  upon  this  boyishness 
of  the  Prophet,  and  deplore  it.     Most  of  them  are 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 9/ 

attached  to  their  first  wives,  and  have  shown  to  them 
consideration  and  attention  which  has  not  always 
pleased  Brigham.  I  have  heard  more  than  one  of 
them  express  the  wish  that  Brother  Brigham's  devo- 
tion to  the  fair  sex  had  more  direction  toward  his 
first  wife.  It  is  but  just  to  the  reigning  favourite  to 
state  that  she  has  not  been  wanting  in  kindness  and 
respect  to  Mrs.  Young. 

Brigham  has  had  his  favourites  before  ;  and,  if  he 
were  to  live  many  years  longer,  with  the  privilege 
hitherto  enjoyed  by  him  of  doing  just  what  he  pleased, 
he  doubtless  would  lose  his  fancy  for  his  present  toy 
and  seek  another.  One  of  his  recent  wives  is  a  very 
handsome  lady,  and  his  attentions  in  that  direction 
are  already  very  marked. 

As  I  write,  the  thought  comes  over  me, — What  in- 
fatuated beings  the  women  of  Utah  have  been,  with 
all  these  evidences  of  human  weakness  and  passion 
exhibited  by  the  "  Priesthood "  continually  before 
their  eyes,  that  they  should  ever  believe  that  there  is 
even  a  shadow  of  divinity  in  Polygamy  !  How  could 
they  imagine  for  an  instant  that  it  was  possible  for 
such  a  doctrine  to  emanate  from  God,  or  from  that 
Adorable  Being  who  looked  upon  woman  with  the 
sweetest  tenderness  that  humanity  could  express ! 
What  a  terrible  infatuation !  It  is  fearful  to  con- 
template ! 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Gentiles  in  Utah — Mormon  Women  not  allowed  to  mingle  with 
them — Restrictions  and  Prejudices — Women  and  Men  kept  apart 
in  the  Tabernacle  and  the  Theatre — Keeping  a  Gentile  Boarding- 
House — Times  changed — Mormon  Girls  marrying  Gentile  Hus- 
bands— Why  they  prefer  the  Gentiles — Reasons  of  Jealousy — The 
Looks  of  Mormon  Women — False  Notions — The  Railway  working 
Changes  —  An  Appeal  to  Congress  —  The  wisest  Course  to  be 
adopted — To  the  Women  of  Utah. 

For  many  years  there  were  very  few  Gentiles  in 
Utah.  Most  of  these  were  merchants  and  their 
clerks,  and  teamsters.  There  were  also  two  or  three 
Federal  officials.  Although  they  were  but  few,  their 
influence  was  always  dreaded  by  the  Mormon  lea- 
ders ;  and  the  Tabernacle  and  Meeting-Houses  re- 
sounded with  something  disparaging  to  the  Gentiles. 
Some  of  them  doubtless  commanded  very  little  re- 
spect. But  it  mattered  not  how  much  others  might 
be  respected  elsewhere,  how  pure  and  blameless 
their  lives,  it  was  enough  that  they  were  Gentiles, 
and  a  worse  thing  still  to  be  a  gentlemanly  or  edu- 
cated Gentile.  The  pleasant  manners  of  a  cultivated 
life  were  set  down  as  the  wiles  of  the  Evil  One  to 
seduce  the  simple  and  trusting  maidens  of  the  flock, 
and  rendered  the  gentleman  an  object  of  suspicion 
and  distrust.  The  rough  and  uncultivated  could  be 
easily  guarded  against  and  easily  exposed. 

No  young  woman  could  possibly  accept  any  atten- 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      1 99 

tions  from  a  Gentile  without  being  disgraced — it  was 
an  unpardonable  sin,  and  she  was  certain  to  be  de- 
nounced and  abused  in  the  Ward  meetings.  It  was 
a  risk  of  reputation  for  any  woman  to  be  seen  talking 
to  a  Gentile.  It  mattered  not  where  they  might 
have  met  before — at  the  store,  or  at  a  friend's  house, 
or  even  before  they  had  gone  to  Utah — to  recognize 
a  Gentile  in  the  street  was  to  avow  an  intimacy 
which  was  associated  with  a  suspicion  of  the  vilest 
conduct.  For  any  family  to  entertain  gentlemen 
who  brought  letters  of  introduction  from  friends 
abroad  was  not  impossible,  it  is  true;  but  the  less 
they  had  of  this  kind  of  thing  the  better.  If  these 
gentlemen  were  simply  passing  through  Salt  Lake 
City,  an  invitation  to  the  theatre  might  be  accepted 
by  any  member  of  the  family  ;  but  they  would  be 
very  thankful  when  it  was  over,  knowing  well  that 
all  eyes  were  upon  them.  But  if  this  friend  hap- 
pened to  prolong  his  visit,  and  should  chance  to  give 
a  second  invitation  for  the  theatre  or  a  carriage-drive, 
some  falsehood  had  to  be  conjured  up  as  an  excuse 
for  declining. 

Some  toleration  was  extended  in  the  case  of  my 
husband,  as  he  was  an  editor,  and  necessarily  had 
many  visitors  whom  he  took  pleasure  in  entertain- 
ing ;  but  it  was  considered  by  many  pious  friends 
that  we  had  more  of  that  kind  of  association  than 
was  beneficial.  At  the  present  time,  I  have  little 
doubt  that  our  leaving  the  church  is  attributed  to 
this  cause. 

I  would  not  have  permitted  my  daughters,  had 
they  had  such  a  desire,  to  have  accepted  any  atten- 


200      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

tions  from  a  Gentile.  Not  that  I  believed  it  was 
wrong — I  knew  better — but  I  was  afraid  of  the  bit- 
ter tongue  of  scandal,  which  I  knew  was  ready  to 
wag.  A  very  sweet  little  girl  who  lived  near  us,  and 
who  had  associated  with  my  daughter  while  growing 
up,  became  acquainted  with  Gentile  ladies  and  visit- 
ed them  at  home.  There,  naturally,  she  became  ac- 
quainted with  Gentile  gentlemen  ;  and  as  she  was 
very  good-looking  she  received  attentions  which  were 
to  her  agreeable,  particularly  in  her  lonely  situation. 
Of  course,  the  acquaintance  with  my  daughter  had 
to  be  stopped,  although  I  believed  this  little  girl  pure 
and  spotless.  The  scandal  against  her  as  she  grew 
up  became  of  the  very  vilest  character,  and  her  of- 
fence was  simply  associating  with  the  Gentiles.  Had 
her  faith  in  the  Mormon  Church  been  unshaken,  she 
would  certainly  not  have  formed  such  acquaintances  ; 
but  the  poor  girl  was  disgusted  with  the  wretched 
phases  of  Polygamy  constantly  before  her  eyes — her 
mother  could  have  told  an  awful  tale  of  sorrow. 

Another  very  beautiful  young  Mormon  lady,  the 
daughter  of  a  gentleman  who,  when  living,  was  one 
of  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  church,  was  once 
chosen  for  her  handsome  appearance  to  represent 
the  goddess  of  liberty  in  a  Fourth  of  July  proces- 
sion. When  Brigham  heard  it,  the  committee  were 
rebuked  and  the  young  lady  insulted  by  their  after- 
wards refusing  to  accept  her,  although  she  had  been 
specially  invited — her  unfitness  being  that  she  kept 
Gentile  society. 

These  young  ladies  are  now  married  to  very  re- 
spectable Gentiles. 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMV.      201 

When  the  United  States  army  went  to  Utah  in 
1858,  one  half  of  the  old  Tabernacle  was  appropriat- 
ed to  the  sisters,  and  the  other  half  to  the  brethren. 
The  centre  of  the  new  Tabernacle  is  now  devoted  ex- 
clusively to  the  sisters — no  husband  or  brother  sits 
near  them.  When  Brigham  built  the  theatre  it  was 
also  specially  partitioned  off.  The  Mormon  families 
occupied  the  parquette,  and  the  Gentiles  had  the 
first  circle.  Of  course,  the  poorer  classes  had  no 
souls  to  contaminate,  were  less  cared  for,  and  Gen- 
tiles and  Mormons  sat  together  in  the  second  and 
third  circles. 

At  one  time,  the  Saints  were  not  permitted  to 
keep  Gentile  boarders  and  retain  good  standing  in 
the  church.  Some  persons  would  persist  in  doing 
so  ;  but  it  was  a  source  of  great  scandal,  and  they 
subjected  themselves  to  attacks  in  the  sermons.  It 
was  told  them  that  Gentile  society  would  bring  a  per- 
nicious influence  into  their  families.  But  what  a 
change  has  come  over  the  affairs  of  Utah  !  One  of 
Brigham  Young's  own  wives,  the  one  who  was  once 
the  reigning  favourite,  now  keeps  Gentile  boarders. 
Not  long  ago,  I  made  some  remarks  about  the  incon- 
sistency of  this  to  a  very  good  sister,  who  by-the- 
by  was  doing  the  same  thing  herself,  and  was  also 
one  of  the  persons  most  opposed  to  our  receiving 
Gentile  company.  She  replied  that  the  times  had 
changed,  and  that  Brigham  Young  could  not  be  re- 
sponsible for  what  his  wives  did  ;  they  would  do  as 
they  pleased.  This  excuse  was  worse  than  none  ; 
for  every  one  in  Salt  Lake  City  knows  that  none  of 
Brigham  Young's  wives  would  do  any  such  thing 


202      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

without,  his  permission.  The  wife  alluded  to  is  as 
obedient  as  any  he  has  got,  and  a  very  excellent  lady 
with  a  large  family.  It  enables  her  probably  with  her 
numerous  children  to  procure  many  things  which  they 
might  otherwise  have  to  dispense  with,  and  as  long 
as  "  there  is  money  in  it,"  and  his  treasury  is  saved, 
Brigham  will  "  wink  at  it,"  as  he  says  the  Lord  does 
at  certain  things  among  the  Saints.  I  could  mention 
Mormons  who  have  had  a  very  bad  name  for  years 
for  keeping  Gentile  boarders.  They  will  doubtless 
now  feel  better  since  it  has  become  respectable  and 
no  longer  renders  them  liable  to  "  damnation." 

Notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of  the  priesthood, 
several  young  ladies  of  highly  respectable  families 
have  preferred  Gentile  husbands,  and  have  left  the 
Territory.  These  have  invariably  been  traduced, 
and  every  rumour  of  misfortune  occurring  to  them 
afterwards  was  a  sweet  morsel  to  be  retailed  with 
very  ill-disguised  gratification.  For  any  lady  to  be 
spoken  of  with  respect  or  as  holding  fl  good  posi- 
tion after  leaving  the  church  is  particularly  obnoxious 
to  the  devoted  Mormons,  and  any  evil  which  may 
befall  such  a  person  is  regarded  as  a  judgment  from 
heaven.  Kind-hearted  and  fraternal  as  the  people 
are,  the  rulers  seem  to  rejoice  in  nothing  so  much 
as  the  misery  or  ill-fortune  of  any  one  who  has  left 
the  church. 

It  is  not  strange  that  spirited,  proper-feeling  girls 
should  find  the  society  of  Gentiles  acceptable.  There 
need  be  no  my3tery  about  it.  The  Mormon  boys  and 
young  men  have  heard  so  much  of  polygamic  preach- 
ing, and  have  had  so  much  of  its  practice  before  their 


WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY.      203 

eyes,  that  many  of  them  never  can  visit  the  Mormon 
girls  without  speaking  of  it.  I  have  frequently  heard 
sensitive  young  maidens  relate  that  boys,  when  visit- 
ing, were  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  their  "  privi- 
leges ;"  telling  what  they  would  do  when  they  got 
married  ;  how  they  thought  that  they  would  take  two 
wives  at  once,  to  begin  with  ;  how  they  would  live 
with  them  afterwards,  etc. 

Girls  of  the  slightest  feeling  and  intelligence  are 
naturally  shocked  at  this  kind  of  talk,  even  though  it 
has  no  practical  effect  on  them.  Polygamy  is  dis- 
agreeable enough  in  any  form,  but  when  made  a  sub- 
ject of  boasting  by  silly  boys  and  ignorant  men,  it  is 
doubly  offensive.  In  Gentile  society,  the  girls  are  at 
least  spared  conversation  on  such  subjects  ;  and 
when  they  are  by  themselves,  they  do  not  fail  to  re- 
mark it  to  each  other.  In  polygamic  Mormonism, 
woman  is  a  convenience  ;  in  a  proper  Gentile  home, 
woman  is  a  companion,  and  this  comparison  is  really 
more  apprehended  than  any  immoral  conduct.  A 
polygamous  wife,  who  is  one  of  many,  who  sees  her 
husband  only  occasionally,  and  that  generally  as  a 
favour,  cannot  well  see  a  Gentile  lady  at  home  with- 
out comparing  situations.  It  makes  them  unhappy, 
and  that  in  a  great  measure  is  why  the  Mormons 
have  been  taught  to  avoid  Gentile  society. 

Writers  upon  Utah  have  said  that  the  Mormon 
women  were  extremely  homely  and  coarse-looking. 
This  is  very  unjust,  for,  doubtless,  nowhere  is  there 
to  be  found — taking  them  as  a  whole — a  more  fresh, 
happy,  and  good-looking  set  of  girls  than  among  the 
Mormons.     It  is  only  after  marriage  that  many  of 


'/ 


204      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

them  lose  their  elasticity  of  step,  their  joyous,  happy 
looks,  and  that  animation  of  countenance  which  makes 
even  a  homely  face  look  beautiful  at  times.  On  some 
of  their  faces  may  be  detected  a  deep  melancholy  ; 
but,  if  they  can  be  diverted  from  their  sad  thoughts 
for  ever  so  short  a  time,  they  become  animated,  and 
even,  it  may  be,  beautiful.  Add  to  this  secret  sorrow 
which  casts  a  gloom  upon  their  countenances,  the 
little  opportunity  which  they  have  of  cultivating  their 
taste  for  dress,  and  it  will  not  be  wondered  at  if  the 
Mormon  women  are  not  always  very  beautiful  to  a 
man  who  is  captivated  by  outward  appearances. 
Many  of  these  women  are  taught  to  be  satisfied  with 
simple  clothing,  and  it  is  constantly  drummed  into 
their  ears  that  love  of  dress  is  a  sin  in  the  sight  of 
God.  Thus  this  love  of  the  beautiful,  which  is  a 
part  of  woman's  nature,  has  to  be  crushed  out  en- 
tirely, and  that,  too  frequently,  by  her  own  husband, 
whose  example  is  entirely  opposed  to  his  teaching ; 
for  a  Mormon,  if  he  can  afford  it,  is  very  scrupulous 
in  his  own  dress.  Those  very  men  who  are  most 
severely  economical  with  their  wives,  and  who  think 
that  they  should  be  satisfied  with  homespun  and  sun- 
bonnets,  are  they  who  are  the  soonest  captivated  by 
an  elegantly-dressed  and  fashionable  woman,  and 
often  become  perfectly  infatuated  about  her. 

This  has  been  a  cause  of  much  discontent  among 
the  women  of  Utah  ;  for  they  very  justly  feel  that  if 
they  had  as  fine  feathers,  they  might  make  just  as 
handsome  birds. 

I  remember,  at  one  of  the  parties,  a  lady  was  very 
nicely  dressed,  and  one  of  the  principal  authorities  of 


iVBivi 


WHAT   I    KNOW   ABOUT   POLYGAM^^ -  20 


the  Church  said  to  her,  "  Sister,  don't  you  think  that 
you  spend  too  much  time  and  thought  on  your 
dress  ?"  She  answered,  "  Do  you  think  so  ?  After 
all,  a  person  looks  a  great  deal  better  when  they  give 
a  little  attention  to  their  dress.  You,  Brother  Kim- 
ball, look  a  great  deal  better  since  you  have  worn  a 
coat  of  broadcloth,  cut  in  the  fashionable  style."  He 
simply  answered  that  it  was  not  his  wish  to  wear 
other  clothes  than  what  he  used  to,  but  that  his  wives 
insisted  upon  his  doing  so.  Men  in  Utah  are  not 
guilty  of  following  the  advice  of  their  wives,  except 
it  be  in  thT^'bne  particular;  for  Brigham  himself  has 
said  that  "  it  is  a  disgrace  in  the  sight  of  heaven  for  a 
man  to  follow  his  wife." 

In  Utah,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  there  are  certainly 
women  to  be  found  who  never  had  any  good  looks  to 
lose,  or  a  sensitive  nature  to  contend  with  ;  but  it  is 
not  true  to  assert  this  as  a  characteristic  of  the 
whole  community.  The  women  of  Utah  are  like 
women  of  their  class  everywhere. 

The  construction  of  the  Pacific  Railroad,  the  dis- 
covery of  the  great  wealth  in  the  mountains  of  Utah, 
and  the  free  expression  of  the  sentiments  of  thinking 
men  who  have  outlived  and  abandoned  Mormonism, 
have  given  the  death-blow  to  Polygamy.  Were  there 
none  but  Mormons  in  the  Territory,  it  might  have 
lived  on  so  long  as  they  were  willing  to  remain  in 
poverty  ;  but  with  prosperity,  and  the  changed  cir- 
cumstances which  are  ever  certain  to  follow  wealth, 
Polygamy  is  a  doomed  institution. 

Whatever,  in  the  providence  of  God,  may  be  the 


206      WHAT  I  KNOW  ABOUT  POLYGAMY. 

action  of  Congress  toward  Utah,  if  the  word  of  a 
feeble  woman  can  be  listened  to,  let  me  respectfully 
ask  the  Honourable  Senators  and  Representatives  of 
the  United  States  that,  in  the  abolition  of  Polygamy, 
if  such  should  be  the  decree  of  the  nation,  let  no  com- 
promise be  made  where  subtilty  can  bind  the  woman 
now  living  in  Polygamy  to  remain  in  that  condition. 
Legalize,  if  Congress  will,  the  marriages  that  have 
been  made,  and  legitimatize  the  children  born  in  that 
wedlock,  if  such  can  be  done,  for  the  women  and  chil- 
dren are  innocent ;  but  let  one  proviso  ever  remain, 
that  any  wife  living  in  Polygamy,  at  the  time  of  the 
passage  of  that  Act  of  Congress,  shall  be  then  and 
ever  afterwards  free  to  abandon  that  relationship 
when  her  conscience  shall  so  dictate,  without  legal 
hindrance,  and  that  she  and  her  children  shall  be 
provided  for  as  if  she  had  been  his  first  and  legal 
wife  whom  the  courts  oi  law  had  separated  "for 
cause." 

I  have  now  completed  my  task,  and  am  about  to 
lay  down  my  pen.  I  shall,  I  know,  be  condemned  by 
those  hymn-singing,  devotional  women,  who,  child- 
less and  husbandless  here,  dream  of  the  glories  of  the 
world  to  come,  while  they  never  knew  the  duties,  the 
obligations,  the  sweet  and  hallowed  sympathies  of 
the  world  in  which  they  live.  In  their  eyes,  I  have 
doubtless  committed  the  "  unpardonable  sin."  I  have 
written  for  the  suffering  and  sorrowing  women  in 
Polygamy.  They  will  understand  me,  and  to  them  I 
appeal.  Before  the  Great  Tribunal  I  will  cheerfully 
meet  their  verdict. 


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